


High and Dry

by moonsnail



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Prostitution, harry is a photographer, harry trusts people too easily, i still suck at tags, liam tends a bar, lots of pining though, louis can't admit his love, louis doesn't have a legit job, louis is a thief, niall is a dj, niall is the best friend ever, zayn sells stolen things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-25
Updated: 2013-05-04
Packaged: 2017-12-09 10:38:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/773233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonsnail/pseuds/moonsnail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry doesn't normally let strangers into his flat, but he has to let in the cute boy with fringe who has obviously spent some time trying to meet him. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love with the stranger and be so heartbroken when he leaves with most of his things.</p><p>- - -</p><p>“Lou! I'm home!” Harry calls out into his flat, carefully placing his camera bag on the table by the door. Hearing no response, Harry calls out again. “Lou?” Harry toes his shoes off and walks into his flat, still no response. He wonders if Louis had gone out for the night when he freezes. His apartment is in shambles, half of his things missing, couch and telly included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is **important**. If you don't read the rest of these notes, read at least this:  
>  This fic starts at present day. It then goes back almost a year and starts from the very beginning and takes us to present day again. You will know when we are back at present day because it will make so much sense.
> 
> Yet again, a fanfic is born from music. Mainly inspired by “Natalie” by Bruno Mars and “Panic Cord” by Gabrielle Aplin. Additional inspiration in the end notes.
> 
> I actually cried while writing this. I know how it ends and I cried during it. Writing fanfiction has literally become the most surreal thing in my life.
> 
> This will be updated as soon as I finish more chapters and edit them and such. I've written this fic sporadically, starting in the middle and jumping around a lot. I need to fill in the holes and such in the next chapters. Which is why I know how it ends. There will probably be a week between updates.
> 
> Tumblr is moonsnail.tumblr.com if you're feeling nice and want to message me about the fic. Or be my friend. Or harass me. In a nice way.

The moment Harry began to pack his camera bag with the lenses he'd need that day, Louis stepped outside their flat and rang his best mate and accomplice, a small Irishman named Niall. He generally didn't call Niall while Harry was still home, but today was the day.

“Hey, mate. Haz is gonna be gone soon, start heading over.” Louis whispered into the phone. He could feel the shit-eating grin blooming on his friends face through the speaker.

“Got it. Be there in ten.” Niall said and promptly hung up. Louis smiled, a little nervous, stepping back into his shared flat. Harry was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking between two lenses, trying to decide which one he wanted to take with a small pout on his face.

“Lou, which one should I take?” Harry asked, tugging his sleeves down over his hands. Louis glanced at the lenses, noting the one on the right was probably worth more. He never understood why Harry asked him about the lenses; Louis knew nothing about photography. Louis took another moment before he replied, pretending to deliberate.

“The one on the left, babe.”

“Right! I don't know why I couldn't pick.” Harry smiled, picking up the lens on the left and carefully placing it into his camera bag. Louis smiled down at Harry, feeling a small twinge in his heart, as he zipped up the bag and stood up. Harry leaned down and gave Louis a quick peck on the lips, smiling back at the slightly older boy.

“I'll be back late tonight, Boo. See you then?”

“Of course, Haz.”

\- - -

The moment Niall saw Harry pull out of the parking lot of the flat, he stepped out from his hiding spot behind the open door to the laundry and took the stairs up to Louis' flat two at a time. He didn't bother knocking, just letting himself in.

“Lou? You in here?” He called out, not seeing Louis when he walked in.

“Yeah, I'm in here. We gotta move quick. Haz won't be back til late tonight but I want to make sure we get everything.” Lou called out, as he dragged a suitcase stuffed full of his clothes out of the bedroom and down the hallway with a few huffs. “Your van down stairs?”

“Yeah, its parked next t' a blue truck. You sure you want t' do this?” Niall replied as he grabbed Louis' arm, turning him so he would have to meet his eyes. A look of panic flashed over Louis' face before he could stop it.

“ _Yes_ , Niall. I'm sure. I know what I'm doing. I've been doing this for _years_.” Louis replied, looking away. “You know that.” Niall sighed, and released Louis' arm, letting him drag his things to the door.

“Alright, mate.” The blonde replied, heading over to unhook the telly. He knew Louis' had been doing this for years, leaving guys (and sometimes girls) high and dry after a few months of dating. He'd been careful not to choose anyone he'd have problems with later, usually smaller guys with an even temper, but Harry was different for some reason. Louis had given the guy his real name, for starters, and strung him along a lot further than necessary, and Niall had gotten the impression that his best friend had fallen for the lad. Of course, Louis would never admit to that.

As Niall finished unhooking the telly, Louis had come back up with several boxes from Niall's van and had begun packing up whatever he deemed valuable: a cookie jar that rattled like it was filled with coins, the kettle, a bunch of camera lenses, tea, some other miscellaneous food. He grabbed a bunch of other stuff as Niall grabbed the telly and headed out the front door with it.

Once Louis saw Niall head out the door, he rushed over to the microwave and moved it over a bit, grabbing an envelope he'd seen Harry stash under it a few weeks ago, thinking Louis hadn't seen it happen. Louis tucked it under some of the camera lenses in one of the boxes, hiding it for later. He had no idea what was in the envelope, but he hoped it was valuable and worth taking with him. There was only so much he could fit in the boxes.

After filling up the rest of the boxes, Niall helped Louis take a few other larger items they planned on taking later down to the landing of the stairs to wait temporarily. They took the couch and the bed down; the bed was for when Louis stayed with Niall after running, the couch was because Louis couldn't stand looking at Niall's after sleeping on it so many times. Niall had wanted to take the safe they'd found under the bed to crack open later, but Louis insisted he knew where the combination was hidden and shooed Niall out of the bedroom.

Louis crossed his legs as he sunk down to the floor where Harry's bed used to be. He reached for the small safe, pulling it towards him. Louis stared at the safe, asking himself if this was really what he wanted to do. Deciding it was, he turned the dial towards the right, until he reached the number twelve. Pausing for half a second, he turned it back to the left to the number twenty four, then right again to the ninety one. The door to the safe clicked open and Louis reached in and grabbed all the paperwork that Harry kept stashed, before running out of the apartment, locking the door behind him out of habit.

\- - -

_11 months ago_

Louis knocks on the door of flat number 215, waiting for a response. Zayn had tipped him off that this guy would be a really easy target, telling him he thought it'd only take Lou a month or two before he could leave. Just as he's about to leave to try again later, a tall, lanky guy around his age opens the door.

“Can I help you?” He asks. Louis looks him up and down. He won't be so bad to work over, he thinks. The guy was at least cute, with bright green eyes and thick, curly hair springing out of his head at every angle.

“Um, yeah, actually. I was wondering if you could help me out? I'm sort of lost.” Louis says with a smile, looking down at his feet for effect. The other guy raises his eyebrows and they disappear under his hair, a smirk forming on his face.

“You came to the second floor to ask for directions?” Shit, Louis hadn't thought of that. At all. He blushes, feeling stupid.

“Err... Alright, I lied. I've seen you coming up here a few times before. Thought you were cute and I wanted to talk to you, so I waited until I saw you come home before knocking.” Louis was only half lying, that time. He'd definitely waited downstairs until he saw the guy come up and he definitely thought he was cute. Louis watched the other man's face closely for a reaction, satisfied when he started blushing.

“O-oh. Um, do you want to come in, then? I'm Harry.” Harry replies, offering his hand for a shake. Louis grins, his eyes crinkling as he takes Harry's hand and shakes it.

“It's nice to meet you, Harry. I'm Louis.” Louis says as he steps into Harry's flat, not quite sure he told the other lad his real name. Harry smiles back, welcoming Louis in.

\- - -

“How'd it go, mate?” Niall asks, as Louis walks into the flat he sometimes shared with Niall. Niall was a short, blonde Irishman that Louis had met in a pub on a night he'd been looking for a new informant when he lived in Liverpool. They'd hit it off immediately and it wasn't long before Louis had roped him into his business.

“It was alright. The guy's name is Harry, tall guy with curly hair. Not too bad looking.” Louis responds, knowing Niall will ask for more information. He always seemed really interested in the people Louis would be screwing over.

“What's he like? You see his place, yet?” Niall quizzes. He'd always loved learning about the people Louis stole from. He liked knowing what kind of people would fall for Louis' tricks; it was like learning how someone's brain worked.

“He's alright. He does freelance photography. He's pretty fit as well. I think I could make a decent amount off of him. He seems a bit gullible and easy to work over.” Louis replies. Niall nods, a serious look on his face.

“What name did you give this time?” He asks, curious. Louis grimaces a little and looks away.

“I sort of told him my real name.” Louis admits. Niall's blue eyes double in size at that.

“You _what_?” He asks, shocked. Louis just sighs.

“Yeah, I know. It was dumb. I'm not really sure why I did it, but its not like I can't use an alias later.” Niall just looks at him.

“Alright, I guess. It's your job.” Niall says eventually, shrugging. He'd always been sure to remind Louis that he wouldn't be joining him on jobs anymore after what happened in Liverpool.

“You're right. It _is_ my job. You wanna watch a movie?” Louis offers.

“Nah, I can't, mate. Got a job tonight.” Niall says. He'd rather be staying home with Louis, watching some dumb movie. The gigs he got DJing at clubs didn't pay too well, but the bills didn't pay themselves.

“Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah?” Louis says with a sigh. Niall nods, exiting the flat. Another night in alone, Louis thinks.

\- - -

About halfway through the night, Louis remembers he'd gotten Harry's number that day and that he should probably work on shooting him a text instead of seeing how many of Niall's empty food containers he can stack up before they topple over. He pulls his phone out, types out a quick _hello_ , presses send and sets his phone down. He doesn't have to wait long before his phone is dinging with a reply.

_Hey :) what are you up to? x_

Louis smiles at the response. He didn't think Harry would reply that quickly. He takes a moment to think before tapping out a response.

_Not much. You wanna go out sometime?_

_Sure. When? x_

Louis smiles again, thinking this would be even easier than he thought it would be. He texts Harry a date a couple of days from now, frowning when Harry claims to be busy. He goes through a few more dates, getting more and more annoyed when Harry keeps claiming to be busy. Finally, though, he finds one that seems alright for Harry, telling him he'd have to pick the place since he was so difficult about the day.

\- - -

Louis knocks on the door of Harry's flat, glad that he's finally getting the opportunity to start this job. He'd met Harry over a week ago; normally he'd be able to get a first date in later the same week he met his “clients”, but Harry was being difficult for some reason about going out with him. The door swings open, startling Louis, and Harry grins.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up!” Harry says, relieved that Louis actually showed up.

“What are you on about? I'm only five minutes late.” Louis frowns playfully as he steps back to let Harry out of his flat.

“Only five minutes!” Harry mocks, stepping out of his apartment and turning to lock the door. “More like ten.” He teases.

“I'm _hurt_ , Harold.” Louis whines, placing his hand on his heart for effect. Harry just grins and starts walking, enjoying the way Louis has to work a bit to keep up with him.

“C'mon, then, we're gonna be late for our reservation.” Harry says, turning to look at Louis, subtly taking smaller steps once he notices the annoyed look on the shorter man's face.

“Where are we eating?” Louis asks, relieved slightly when Harry starts walking a bit slower. It's not that he didn't mind jogging to keep up with Harry; he just didn't like being reminded of his height. It was a sensitive subject for him. They'd barely walked a block when Harry stopped suddenly and turned abruptly to face Louis.

“Here.” Harry replies, gesturing to a small Italian restaurant that he'd just stopped in front of. He leads Louis in, holding the door. Louis smiles to himself; it was always easier for him when the men he screwed over were gentlemen. If he ran into them later, they were less likely to pick a fight.

Once inside and seated, Louis notices the intimate setting. They were seated away from everyone else and in a corner, with a couple of candles placed on the table between them. He smiles at this, realizing Harry had to have called ahead and requested a more private space when he made the reservation.

“This is a nice place, Harry.” Louis says, eyeing the prices listed on the menu. They weren't cheap, but not overly expensive, Louis thinks. Harry would pull probably pull a decent amount for him. “Do you come here often?” Harry blushes a bit.

“Uh, not too often. Usually when I'm with friends or summat.” Harry replies, a bit chuffed that Louis seemed to like the place. A tall, leggy waitress approaches their table.

“Hi, my name is Cara and I'll be your server tonight. Is there anything I can get you to drink?” She asks, speaking mainly to Harry. Louis notices, and narrows his eyes at her. He didn't like it when other people made his job more difficult.

“I'll have a water, thanks.” Harry says, looking over to Louis. The waitress turns to him, looking bored.

“I'll have the same.” Louis answers, too busy glaring at the waitress that he's not quite sure what he just ordered. Unfortunately, the waitress didn't seem put off by his icy glare, turning back to Harry and telling him the drinks would be out soon. He needed to find a way to get the waitress to back off a bit so his plan for tonight would go smoothly.

Harry notices Louis is a little aggressive towards the waitress, so when she returns with the drinks a few minutes later, he's sure to pay more attention to Louis than he does to her, hoping he'd calm down a bit. It seems to work; Louis smirks at the waitress when he thinks Harry isn't looking.

The rest of the meal goes smoothly; Louis learns a lot about Harry and gives out little about himself in return. He felt a little bad about not sharing more about himself. Harry had seemed genuinely interested in learning more about Louis, but it was part of his plan that he didn't give too much away.

Instead, Louis ends up paying the bill, surprising himself. Another part of screwing guys over was making as much money as possible; paying the bill didn't earn you anything.

As they leave the restaurant, Harry grabs Louis hand. Louis looks up at Harry, only to find him pointedly looking away with a blush creeping up on his cheeks. Louis looks at the ground and smiles, suddenly shy for some reason. The walk back to Harry's flat is almost too short, filled with a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Harry stops them both outside of his flat, turning to face Louis. He still hand his hand wrapped around Louis'. Louis smiles back at him, taking a small step closer, keeping his eyes on Harry's. Harry brings a hand up to Louis' face, cupping his cheek.

“I had fun tonight, Lou.” Harry says, leaning down to press his lips against Louis'. Louis kisses Harry back, an unfamiliar feeling of butterflies filling his insides, as he brings his own hand up to rest on the back of Harry's neck. Just as he's about to try and deepen the kiss, Harry pulls back, sensing Louis wants to take it further.

“Lou, I want to see you again.” Harry starts. “I feel like this could be something special and I don't want to screw it up by moving too fast.” Louis nods at him.

“Alright. You'll call me then, right?” Louis says as he backs away a few steps. He sees Harry nod, and he turns around. “See you, then!” He calls out over his shoulder, turning his head back to grin at Harry. Harry's grinning back at him, looking slightly relieved.

He's really not sure why he agreed to take things slowly, Louis thinks as he heads back to Niall's apartment. There was a part of him that was alright with Harry taking it slow, another part of him that wanted in Harry's pants, and another part that was annoyed that he'd be sleeping on Niall's highly uncomfortable couch again tonight.

\- - -

Louis was grabbing some fresh blankets from Niall's closet when he heard his phone ding from the other room, letting him know he had a new message. Walking back into the living area, he spread the blankets out on the couch before picking his phone up off of the side table next to the couch. Unlocking it, he was surprised to see he had gotten a text from Harry. He decided he'd wait a few minutes before reading it, setting his phone down back down.

Louis headed into the bathroom to take his contacts out when he heard his phone ding again. He rolled his eyes. Either Harry was desperate to get in touch with him or Niall had gotten drunk on the gig he was working tonight and was sending him pointless crap. Louis poked his contacts out and slid his glasses on before heading back out into the living room.

As he lifted the covers and settled in on Niall's couch, Louis grabbed his phone from the side table and opened his messages. He smiled, seeing that both of them were from Harry. Normally he didn't like unwarranted texts from the guys he wouldn't be seeing again, but the texts he got from Harry made him grin before he even got the chance to open them. Louis unlocked his phone and opened the messages.

_Sorry for wanting to take it slow. I hope you forgive me xx_

_good night, lou xx_

Louis grinned at the messages and tapped out a quick message in reply.

_you're forgiven. Night, curly. x_

\- - -

Harry stretched, his limbs reaching past the edge of his bed as he yawned. A soft glow was coming in through his curtains, warming his bare stomach. He reached over to his bedside table for his phone, remembering that he'd fallen asleep before finding out if Louis had forgiven him or not.

Thumbing the screen of his phone to unlock it, he grins, reading Louis' message. He shoots off a quick “good morning” text and rolls out of bed, feeling inspired. It had been a while since he'd gone out and done a shoot for himself, he thinks as he pulls on a pair of skinny jeans, and today is as good a day as any. He doesn't have any jobs lined up for a few days, so he might as well. He throws on an old band shirt before heading to the front room.

Grabbing his camera bag and a few lenses, Harry steps out of his flat, figuring he'll get breakfast out this morning. As he's locking the door to his flat, his phone dings with a new text message. Making his way down the stairs, he pulls his phone out and reads a message from Louis.

_Morning, curly. :) how are you today?_

_I'm well, thx. what are u up to? xx_

_nothing. you?_

_im going out to shoot. feeling inspired. xx_

_can i come with? :) promise i'll be good._

Harry rolls his eyes at the last text, trying not to grin. He doesn't think he'll be able to get much done with Louis around. He may not have known him for long, but he was sure that Louis would distract him. As he approaches a small cafe, he figures that he wants to see Louis again and there are going to be other days he can go out for shoots. He texts Louis the address of the cafe, promising to wait there for him.

\- - -

About half an hour later, the bell above the door of the cafe chimes and Harry sees Louis stroll in wearing a dark red t-shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of old converse. He looks good, Harry thinks. Louis grins when he sees Harry sitting at his table in the corner, making his way over.

“Hey, Curly.”

“Hi, Lou. Have you eaten yet?” Harry asks with a grin.

“Yeah. You wanna go? I'll just watch.” Louis responds, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“You mean you're not going to help?” Harry pouts playfully, making Louis smile.

“What did you want me to do? Carry your bag?” Louis shoots back, still smiling. Suddenly, Harry gets an idea.

“You could model for me?” Harry replies seriously, standing. Louis looks a bit surprised at that, his eyes widening slightly.

“What?”

“I mean, only if you want to. You look good and I need more shots of people being people.” Harry blushes and looks down at the floor. Louis just looks at Harry, a little surprised. He didn't expect him to ask that, let alone share that he thought he'd looked good. Harry looks up at him finally, expecting an answer.

“I, uh, sure. I guess. What do I need to do?” Louis responds, feeling like he couldn't turn Harry down. Harry grins, his dimples showing.

“Just be yourself.” Harry says, happy that Louis agreed.

\- - -

Louis feels very out of his element, not used to having a camera trained on him. He steps up onto a bench, walking across it instead of going along the sidewalk like a normal person. He hears the shutter of the camera snapping, and he turns to face Harry who immediately takes the camera down from his face and straightens up a little.

“You sure you want me to be a model? I don't see how you're getting any good shots if I'm just walking around.” Louis says, wondering why he agreed to do this.

“They're good. I promise.” Harry responds, waving for Louis to continue. Louis doesn't continue and just stands there, staring at Harry. Eventually Harry pulls his camera up to his face and snaps a picture of Louis staring into the lens. Louis blushes a little at that, looking down, hearing the shutter close again.

Eventually they continue on, stopping in a small park with a playground where Louis immediately climbs onto a bouncy turtle, giggling as he rocks back and forth. Harry snaps a picture of him giggling madly, grinning. Louis was just like a kid, he thinks, snapping another picture as Louis perches himself on the seat of the turtle, his arms out to balance him.

Louis moves on from the turtle over to the swing set, plopping himself down in the middle. Harry sits on a swing next to him, leaving his camera on the ground next to him, a little tired of taking pictures now. The both sit in silence for a little while, moving back and forth on the swings without actually swinging.

“Lou?” Harry starts. Louis hums in response, twisting in his swing to look at Harry. “Can we hang out like this more?” He asks, twisting to face Louis.

“You mean with me running around doing stupid things and you taking my picture? Sure.” Louis says, twisting his swing around tighter.

“I meant with just you and me doing random shit. But if you want me to take your picture I could do that as well.” Harry watches Louis turn several times in his swing before he lets himself get spun around. He manages to grab his camera and snap a picture of Louis mid-spin.

“Yeah, I suppose we could.” Louis responds, swing still twisting slightly as it slows down from the momentum. “'M dizzy.” Louis adds. Harry just smiles and pulls Louis swing closer to his, pecking him on the lips before letting him go, making Louis grin.

\- - -

A few days later, Harry is handing Lou a bowl of fresh popcorn as he stretches out opposite him on the couch. Louis pops a few kernels into his mouth before picking out a few and tossing them at Harry, stifling a giggle as one gets stuck in a curl. Still trying not to giggle, he puts the bowl of popcorn on the floor and crawls over to Harry, who was engrossed in the movie and still didn't seem to notice the popcorn stuck in his hair.

Harry turns his head sees Louis crawling towards him, a smile threatening to break out onto his face. He's not sure what Louis is up to when he starts crawling over him, his shirt riding up a bit as he plops down on Harry's stomach and stretches his torso up to Harry's head. Harry is even more confused when he feels a short tug on his hair and Louis slumps back down, chewing.

“Did you just eat my hair?!” Harry asks, his eyes wide. Louis swallows and shakes his head.

“You had popcorn in your hair.” Louis says like its the most normal thing he could have done. Louis scoots back a bit so he sits a little lower on Harry's abdomen and snuggles in, tucking his head into Harry's neck. It's a sweet gesture, even for Louis. He's not much for cuddles, but with Harry it feels right.

“You could've just picked it out of my hair, you know, instead of just eating it. You also didn't have to throw it in the first place.” Harry pretends to pout, placing his hands on Louis' sides, holding him there. It's a few minutes before Louis responds, enjoying the warmth of Harry.

“'s too easy, though. And no fun.” Louis protests weakly, beginning to feel sleepy. Harry's hands feel nice on his waist, he thinks, feeling secure. Harry hums in response, yawning a bit.

“You're making me sleepy.” Harry mumbles a little, feeling Louis' breathing slow against his neck. A moment later, he feels Louis' succumb to sleep, his body unconsciously squeezing Harry's a little tighter. Harry pulls Louis closer, falling asleep holding him in his arms.

\- - -

All Louis has been able to think about lately is Harry and its beginning to get frustrating. He can't focus on playing Mario Kart, sleeping, eating or breathing without having curly hair or dimples pop into his mind. This is nothing like his other jobs, where the person he worked on was just a face and unimportant to him. There was something about Harry that seemed to have a hold on Louis, and he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that what he was doing was quite right.

That in itself was a mystery. Why was it wrong with Harry, but alright with other men? What about Harry was different? He definitely, _definitely_ did not have any sort of feelings for Harry. He was only there to get the job done so Niall, Zayn, and himself could make a few pounds. So, he decided, that instead of thinking about Harry, he would work on a list of things he wanted to be sure to grab when he left.

“Niall!” Louis calls out, hoping his friend is still awake.

“What?” Niall calls back, sounding only slightly annoyed. A moment later he walks into the living area where Louis is seated on his couch.

“What do you want?” Louis asks, opening a new note on his phone and listing a bed as the first thing.

"What d'you mean?”

“Like a new telly or computer or what. I'm making a list of stuff I want to be sure to grab later.” Louis elaborates. Niall's eyebrows inch up at that. Louis never plans anything, ever. Especially not when it comes to running. He's more of a grab and go type of person.

“Uh, I s'pose I could go for a new telly.” Niall says, watching Louis type it into his phone, adding “kettle” under it. “Why are you making a list?” Niall adds innocently. Louis looks at him and narrows his eyes.

“I always make a list.”

“No you don't.”

“Just because you don't see it doesn't mean I don't make it.” Louis lies. Niall snorts.

“Whatever.” Niall rolls his eyes and walks off, leaving Louis to plan out what he wants to take. “Oi, since you're making a list, could you grab me some new headphones?” He calls out. Louis grins and adds them to the list.

“Of course, darling.” Louis calls back.

“Prick.” Niall responds, voice muffled by a door. That's me, Louis thinks, a bad feeling settling in his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is picking up from the end of the last chapter, obviously, and is still in the past. It ends a week before "present day". Next chapter will start at present day. :)
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter, that will be up within the week if things go according to plan and I don't fall off the couch and die.
> 
> Tumblr is still moonsnail.tumblr.com if you want to talk to me or bug me about updating or whatever.

Harry pulls Louis to the front of the line, paying off the bouncer. The bouncer notices Louis and gives him a funny look, probably one of recognition, before stepping aside. Harry doesn't seem to notice and drags Louis inside by the hand.

Louis is nervous about their second date. Harry wanted to take him to the club that he'd usually meet his buyer at; he was also pretty familiar with the bouncer. When other guys had tried to take him out to that specific club, he'd turned them down, saying he'd had bad experiences there. With Harry, though, he'd agreed to go without thinking about it. He swallows hard, trying not to think about it too much as he and Harry approach the bar.

“What do you want, Lou?” Harry questions, turning back to look at Louis.

“Shots. Any kind.” Louis replies, thinking the faster he can get drunk, the faster he can stop thinking and the faster the night will end. Harry raises an eyebrow, but flags down the bar tender anyways. They each down three shots before Louis finally gives in to dancing, already a bit tipsy.

Harry drags Louis into the throng of people, making sure to keep him close. Once he reaches the middle of the group, he stops and turns, wrapping himself around Louis. Louis turns around, so his bum is pressed up against Harry's crotch and swivels his hips. Harry's hands find his hips, digging in and moving to the beat behind him.

They continue grinding for quite a few songs, Louis hand eventually reaching up to grab Harry's curls, his other resting on top of the arm Harry had snaked around his abdomen. He could feel when Harry's dick began to harden, pressing against his bum as they danced. Louis is about to turn around to kiss Harry, when Harry pulls them into a corner of the club, crowding Lou into the wall and presses his lips to Louis'.

Louis opens up easily, letting Harry lick into his mouth almost immediately. He enjoys the feel of Harry's body surrounding him, his hands on the wall behind him. Louis has a tight grip on the younger lad's lower back, pulling him as close as he can as he slots a leg between Harry's. Harry pulls away for a moment.

“Do you wanna - ,” Harry stops to groan as Louis presses his thigh into Harry's crotch, “ - go back to mine?” Louis only nods and lets himself be pulled back through the club and out the door.

On the walk back to Harry's apartment, Louis is excited at the prospect of finally sleeping with Harry. This means he can leave sooner and be done with the job. He's running out of the money he'd made on his last job and can't afford to go much longer without having to crack open his savings.

As they approach the door to Harry's flat, Louis gets the unfamiliar feeling of butterflies in his stomach. The moment Harry unlocks the door, Louis ignores his butterflies and pushes them both in, crowding him against the wall this time. He's confused, though, when Harry puts his hands on Lou's shoulders and pushes slightly.

“Louis, wait.” Harry says, looking a bit guilty. Louis' heart falls as he realizes what Harry's getting at.

“You want to slow down.” Louis looks down, feeling slightly disappointed that his plan will take longer than he thought. He's more worried about the fact that he was outright rejected.

“Yeah, if that's alright?” Harry asks, nodding. Feeling even more guilty with the look on Louis' face, he quickly adds, “But if you want to mess around a bit that's alright.”

“Mess around how?” Louis asks, finally looking back up at Harry. Harry smirks and palms Louis through his jeans.

“Like this.” He responds, grinning when Louis grinds against him.

\- - -

Louis is on top of Harry on the couch, enjoying the feel of his hands sliding up and down his sides. He sighs and snuggles in closer to Harry, breathing in the smell of sunshine and outdoors and Harry. He feels Harry's face split into a grin and bites his lip in an attempt to not catch his contagious smile.

“Lou?” Louis hums in response. “What are we?” Harry asks, serious.

“What do you mean?” Louis pretends to play dumb. Harry sighs a little.

“Are we just screwing around? Or are we _together_?” Harry asks, staring at the ceiling. Louis feels his heart flutter at the word, knowing the implications.

“I suppose.” Louis responds, squirming. He doesn't become “official” or “exclusive” with any of the guys he's been with, but he supposes Harry can be the exception.

This time, he doesn't try to hide the grin he catches from Harry.

\- - -

“It's been more than a few months, Zayn.” Louis is frustrated. He's standing outside of the club Harry took him to a week ago, talking with Zayn as he sells his merchandise.

“Yeah, well, maybe you're just off your game or summat.” Zayn responds coolly, refusing to take the blame for Louis not being able to rip this guy off already.

“Off my game? What is that supposed to mean?” Louis spits. Zayn just shakes his head, smirking like he's got some sort of secret.

“Look, Lou. I can't do anything to help you and you know it. All I can do is give you a new tip. Do you want a new tip?” Zayn says, finally turning to look at Louis. Louis huffs.

“No. You know I'd lose more than I've made if I take a new tip.”

“Well, its not my problem then. But hurry it up, yeah? I'm running low on merch.” Louis jaw falls open.

“You're the one that gave me a shitty tip. Do not tell me to “hurry it up” you prick.” Louis snaps.

“Right. The bouncer told me you were here with him a couple nights ago.” Zayn changes the subject, tired of listening to Louis complain. “You know that's dangerous, mate.” Louis rolls his eyes at that.

“This guy is a fucking flower, Zayn. Even if he does run into us here after I leave him, he won't do anything.” Louis says, rolling his eyes again. Zayn scoffs at that, not quite sure he believes Louis. Louis senses Zayn doesn't believe him, and angrily pushes off the wall and starts walking back to Niall's flat.

\- - -

Niall is getting really frustrated with having Louis as a roommate. Niall moves around his flat and picks up all of Louis' clothes and shoves them into his hamper, figuring he might as well wash them with his own. He's about to move on to picking up all the take out containers Louis' has left behind when he hears the door to the flat open and then slam shut.

“Lou?” He calls out as Louis rounds the corner and almost runs into Niall.

“Fuck, Niall. Didn't expect you there.” Louis says in response, the anger from his encounter with Zayn slowly slipping off of his face.

“S'alright. Could we talk for a bit?” Niall asks, wary of Louis' mood.

“I suppose.” Louis sighs, looking at Niall.

“How much longer do you think you have left before you move in with him?”

“Ah, fuck, Niall. I don't know. It's going slower than I thought. Do you need me out before then?” Louis brings his hands up to his head and begins rubbing his temples, trying to figure out what he'd do if he had to leave.

“Nah, mate. I'm just sick of cleaning up after you.” Niall stacks a few take out containers and carries them carefully over to the bin. “And doing your laundry.” He adds, gesturing to the hamper that was stuffed with his clothes.

“Niall, I've told you before you don't have to do that.” Louis sighs, grabbing a few containers and tossing them in the bin.

“I do if I want to live like a normal person.” Niall was a little frustrated. He liked keeping his flat clean, not on the verge of being invaded by cockroaches.

“Look, I'll move in with Harry as soon as I can.” Louis' patience is running a bit thin, now. He really didn't want to talk about how long this job was taking. Or how much of a slob he was. Niall can hear the tension in Louis' voice.

“Alright, mate.” Niall concedes. “But if you're here much longer, you'll have to do yer own damn cleaning.”

\- - -

Harry is excellent at cuddling, Louis thinks as he tries to fold a shirt. He'd made a deal with Niall that he'd fold the clean laundry if Niall washed it. He didn't think folding would be this difficult. With a sigh, he reaches over to the side table and picks his phone up, thinking he'd try to connect to a neighbors wifi and look up how to fold clothes.

Louis doesn't get very far in looking up how to fold clothes when he looks up and realizes the clean laundry is wrinkling and he's been reading old conversations he'd had with Harry over the last week. Normally he'd be texting him now, but he was on a job for some low ranking city official. Louis flails internally at the laundry wrinkling, tossing his phone back onto the table and starts laying the clothes out.

Once the clothes are laid out, Louis sighs at himself. He'd never gotten distracted by guy before. He'd always put everything else before them, but Harry had gotten the better of him that time. He wouldn't let it happen again, he thinks. Grabbing his phone again, he unlocks it in preparation to delete all of his old messages. He goes back to his inbox and deletes all of his old conversations, hoping that would keep him from getting distracted again.

On his way back to his home screen, he sees the icon for his photos, clicking on it. He might as well clean out the rest of the old stuff on his phone while he's at it, he thinks. He starts deleting his oldest pictures, most of them couple-y pictures of himself with whatever guy he was working on at the time. He didn't remember the names of ninety percent of these guys, so keeping the pictures only made sense. It would also be bad if Harry accidentally discovered them. Louis would have a lot to explain if that happened.

Louis is about halfway through his pictures folder when he starts encountering pictures of himself and Harry. He doesn't delete these, because they're somewhat relevant. Instead of scrolling through them all, he takes a minute to look at each one, admiring Harry's voluptuous hair or his green eyes. About five pictures in, it hits him.

He's just spent the last half hour letting himself be distracted by a boy he'd just vowed to not let distract him. Louis throws his phone into the armchair across the room and grabs a shirt, thinking he'd just fold it and hope for the best. He did _not_ like Harry.

\- - -

_come for dinner tonight, yeah? :) 6pm xx_

_cheeky. Just gonna assume i'll come._

_You know you will xx_

Harry grins and continues pushing his cart down the aisle, heading towards the meats. He hadn't cooked for Louis before, but he knew he liked steak and mash. He was a decent enough cook that he thought he'd be able to pull that off. As he examines the steaks, his phone buzzes with a new message.

_You're lucky im free, curly._

Harry smiles at that text as well, choosing not to reply. He picks out a couple of decent sized steaks, deciding to go with the higher quality ones. He figures a little splurging won't hurt. He starts heading towards the vegetables, stopping when he reaches the dessert aisle.

Harry finds himself meandering down the aisle, looking at all of the desserts. Maybe he'd have enough time to bake something, too, he thinks, grabbing a cake mix and looking at the instructions. Forty five minutes in the oven wasn't that long; it might be a bit of a stretch but he could handle it, he decides, putting the mix in the cart and continuing on to the produce.

Looking at the potatoes, Harry's phone vibrates again in his pocket. He puts the potato he'd been examining down and pulls his phone out of his pocket, smirking as he reads the message.

_What am I wearing?_

_dunno, lou. you tell me. ;) xx_

_can you feel me rolling my eyes, haz? I meant what should I wear to dinner._

_whatever you wanna wear, lou. you'll look good in anything xx_

Harry pockets his phone again and goes back to picking out potatoes, ignoring his phone as it blows up with Louis' protests. He grabs a couple of carrots as well, thinking they would make a nice addition to the meal.

Once he's back at his flat, he gets straight to work. It takes him almost two hours to finish cooking the entire meal and he ends up placing everything on warmers while he goes to relax for the few minutes he has before Louis shows up. He decides to pull his phone out and see what Louis sent him while he was cooking.

_Seriously, haz. Tell me what to wear._

_You're ignoring me aren't you?_

_Fuck you._

_Maybe I won't come._

_Okay im coming_

_I hope I don’t look like shit_

_if I do its your fault, haz. I hope you can live with that._

Harry laughs at the last one just as he hears a knock at the door. He pockets his phone and gets up to let Louis in. Opening the door, he's a little surprised at what he sees. Louis is wearing incredibly tight skinny jeans, a snug v-neck shirt that shows a little bit of his chest, and his hair is styled to perfection. On his feet he has a pair of converse that he'd stolen from Harry.

“Hi, Harry.” Louis greets him as he pushes past Harry and into his flat, satisfied when he feels Harry's eyes linger on his ass.

“Hey, Lou.” Harry answers a beat late, a little frustrated that Louis can look so good. “You don't look like shit, you twat. You look amazing.” He admits.

“You think?” Louis smirks and wiggles his butt. Harry blushes.

“Don't tempt me, Tommo.” Harry warns, playfully patting Louis' bum. “C'mon, Lou. I cooked you food.” He adds, pointing towards his kitchen.

“How do I know there's not poison in it?” Louis asks, half serious, starting towards the kitchen. Niall was the only person apart from his mum who had ever cooked for him. He could never be too careful.

“There's no poison in it.” Harry pulls a chair out for Louis.

“I bet it tastes bad then.”

“It tastes delicious.” Harry fixes their plates at the counter.

“How do you know? Have you tried it?” Louis eyes Harry suspiciously.

“No. I've made it enough times, though.” Harry says, bringing the plates back to the table and setting one at each place. Louis looks at the steak and mash, picking up his fork and taking a small bite of the potatoes. Harry watches him swallow.

“The potatoes are all right, I guess.” He admits, picking his knife up to cut off a chunk of steak. Harry watches him chew and swallow, hoping the steak doesn't taste rubbery. “You get points for the steak, too.” Louis adds.

“Told you it didn't taste bad.” Harry grins, reaching for his own fork and knife.

“Shut up, Curly.” Louis sticks some carrots in his mouth. “For future reference, my favorite food is spaghetti.”

“Spaghetti?” Harry is a little surprised.

“Yes, Harry. Spaghetti. Have you not heard of it before?” Louis rolls his eyes and tries to hide a smirk.

“'Course I've heard of spaghetti. I just didn't expect that to be your favorite.” Harry admits.

“Well, you'd better remember. I'll quiz you on it later in the week.” Louis says seriously.

“Alright, then. I'll remember.” Harry grins.

“I also like daisies.”

“Got it. Daisies.”

“And day lilies. But daisies are better.”

“Right. Daisies and not day lilies. And spaghetti.” The grin on Harry's face couldn't get any bigger.

Louis spends the rest of the meal listing things off that he loves. He's not sure why he does it, because he's never really shared much about himself with the guys he's with, but there's just something about Harry that makes him feel safe to be able to just admit things without censoring himself. He hadn't felt that way with anyone; he even censored himself sometimes around Niall.

Harry had listened to him babble the entire meal about himself, paying attention like he really thought he might be quizzed and something about that made Louis feel _special _. He wanted to return the sentiment, and he thinks that's how he ends up in Harry's lap, licking into his mouth and tugging his shirt off a few minutes later.__

__Harry wasn't quite sure why Louis was suddenly in his lap, but he wasn't going to ask him to move. He pulls him a bit closer, reaching down and grabbing his bum as Louis sucks a mark in between his swallow tattoos. He slips his hands into Lou's pants, feeling his arse through the thin cotton of his boxers._ _

__“Lou?” He gasps out. Louis just hums in response, busy sucking another mark into Harry's neck. “I still want to go slow. I really -” Harry whines as Louis rubs his palm against his crotch. “I really think I'm falling for you.” He breathes out. Lou stops sucking marks into Harry's skin and grinds his hips against Harry's and kisses him just below his ear._ _

__"Can I blow you?” Lou asks, pulling back and looking at Harry, his pupils blown._ _

__“Y – yeah.” Harry breathes out. He's not sure if that's moving too fast, but he can't resist the way Louis is looking at him like he could get off on just that. Louis doesn't need to be told twice, slipping off of Harry's lap and unbuttoning his jeans._ _

__\- - -_ _

__On his way back to Niall's apartment, Louis is glad that he's finally gotten a little further in his plan. It's still been frustrating, not having this move as quickly as he'd like. He'd really like to hurry up and get out of there; Harry seemed to make him more trusting of people and that was not a good thing._ _

__Lou also doesn't want to fall for Harry any more than he'd already done. Which definitely wasn't that much. If at all, he reassures himself._ _

__As if on cue, his phone chimes with a text message. Thinking it's from Harry, Louis pulls his phone out and opens the text without looking at who it's from._ _

___mate r u almost done im runnin out of merch 2 sell -z_ _ _

__Louis didn't expect Zayn to text him. He'd only ever texted if he was getting desperate, which also meant he was getting frustrated at not having any steady business. Louis knows he won't be done any time soon and does what any good friend would do if they don't want to piss their mate off. He ignores the text and deletes it, vowing to pretend he never got it if he ran into Zayn at some point._ _

__\- - -_ _

__Zayn was getting pissed. This job wasn't supposed to take Louis so long to finish. He'd already been at it for a little over four months, hanging out with Harry in between their dates more than he'd hung out with Niall. Which was unusual for Louis to do on a job. He normally did dates once a week, not once a month, and dragged Niall or himself out after the dates if he wasn't getting any._ _

__Zayn was a little tight on money and getting tips was harder as his associates started falling in love and leaving the business, taking men and women he could recycle and have screwed over again six months later. Louis wasn't helping at all, taking forever on this job. Lou was generally the best guy Zayn had out there, not to mention the one who helped start his business by bringing him merch in the first place._ _

__He knew, deep down, that it was inevitable that Louis would eventually slip and fall for one of the people he was with, but he didn't think it would be when business was so bad. He also still held on to hope that it didn't happen at all. Zayn knew, though, that he'd have to let Louis go if it came down to that._ _

__\- - -_ _

__Louis stops and looks at his reflection in a car before he heads up the stairs to Harry's flat. Harry had called him earlier that day, inviting him over for dinner. Louis had accepted immediately, because Harry was a phenomenal cook and because he needed to hurry and get the rest of the way into his pants. As he headed up the stairs, he told himself it was mostly because Harry was an amazing cook. No feelings here, he thinks._ _

__He knocked playfully on the door of Harry's flat and waited a moment for a response. Louis was a bit shocked when Harry opened the door, dressed in a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and really, really tight skinny jeans, also black. He looked _good_. Looking around Harry, Louis saw his flat was decorated with little white tea candles, illuminating the space in place of lights._ _

__“Hi, Louis.” Harry said, his voice just a bit higher than normal, as he stepped aside to let Louis in. Louis grinned, realizing Harry was nervous._ _

__“Hi, Harry.” Louis replied, purposely brushing against Harry's shoulder as he stepped inside. “This is quite romantic, Haz.” Louis commented, enjoying the way Harry's face flushed._ _

__“I, uh, wanted it to be special.” Harry said, some of his nerves dissipating now that Louis had come inside. Harry led Louis through his flat and into the kitchen, where he had two plates of spaghetti waiting on the table. The table was set beautifully, with daisies gracing the center. Louis' grin got impossibly bigger._ _

__“This is really nice, Harry. I love the daisies; I didn't think you'd remember those were my favorite. And you even cooked my favorite dish!” Louis said as he took a seat, still smiling. Harry walked around the table and sat across from Louis, grinning shyly at him._ _

__“How could I forget? You practically quizzed me on it last week.” Harry teased, watching Louis smile as he took his first bite._ _

__“I don't know what you're talking about.” Louis blushes a little, secretly loving how Harry could make him blush when he least expected it. “This is absolutely delicious, by the way.” He adds, taking another bite of his food._ _

__“Thanks, Lou.” Harry smiled softly at him over the flowers. The two ate in silence for a while, occasionally speaking about where Harry's work was leading him. Eventually, Harry brought up what he really wanted to discuss, a serious look falling on his face._ _

__“Lou?” He asks, his nerves coming back in full force._ _

__“Haz?” Louis replies, wondering what Harry's about to say._ _

__“Will you move in with me?” Harry's entire face turns red at that, his leg jiggling under the table. Louis positively beams at him. Harry feels a little like he's looking at a human sun, wishing he had his camera to capture the look on Louis' face. Louis gets up and walks around the table, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and looking him in the eyes._ _

__“Of course.” Louis kisses Harry, who relaxes immediately at Louis' response. Harry puts his hands on Louis' hips, dragging him closer as he continues to kiss him. Louis ends up straddling Harry's lap, the kiss quickly becoming heated. Louis' moves his lips to Harry's neck, leaving a mark that will last a while, enjoying the groan Harry gives him in response, feeling his hips lift to create friction. They rut against each other for a few minutes, still fully clothed, before Harry picks Louis' up, holding on tightly to his bum, and takes them into his bedroom._ _

__Louis ends up on his knees on the floor, blowing Harry, when he's looks up as Harry pulls him off with a pop. Harry curses, closing his eyes for a moment, as Louis looks up at him, a little confused as to why he wanted him to stop so suddenly. Eventually his eyes open and meet Louis, irises barely visible because of his blown pupils._ _

__“Lou, I – could you...” Harry couldn't seem to form a sentence, making Louis smirk a bit._ _

__“You want me to fuck you?” Louis asks, still smirking. Harry lets out a groan and bites his lip._ _

__“Fuck, yes. Please.” Harry says, heading over to the bed and spreading out. Louis complies, not needing to be told twice._ _

__\- - -_ _

__“Fantastic lover” was another thing Louis could add to the list of reasons he liked Harry. Maybe he did have some feelings for him, Louis thinks, but definitely not anything more than a small crush. Looking over at Harry, who's fast asleep, Louis yawns, realizing how tired he was. Normally, it was a rule that he didn't spend the night the first time around, but he decided he'd make an exception for Harry, considering he'd be moving in soon._ _

__Normally, Louis didn't make exceptions for anyone._ _

__\- - -_ _

__Louis pulls his phone out the next morning while Harry is in the shower and shoots off a quick text to Niall and Zayn, letting them know he's going to be moving in with Harry. Zayn responds a few minutes later with nothing but a smiley face. Niall doesn't respond and after a few minutes, Louis sighs and stretches, considering hopping in the shower with Harry._ _

__Wanting to pack his things as soon as possible, Louis decides against joining Harry in the shower. Finding a pen and paper, he leaves a note on Harry's bed and slips out of the flat. He can't waste any more time on this job, he thinks as he heads towards Niall's apartment to start packing for what seems like the millionth time._ _

__\- - -_ _

__Niall tackles Louis the moment he steps foot into his flat, grinning._ _

__“D'ya want me to help you pack?!” He yells, excited that Louis is finally moving out._ _

__“You trying to get rid of me, Ni?” Louis retorts, planting a wet kiss on his cheek with a smack and pushes him away._ _

__“Yes.” Niall deadpans, trying to hid a giggle._ _

__“Well, then. By all means, help me pack.” Louis gestures over to his things, piled in the corner of Niall's living room, before heading over and grabbing a box._ _

__“It would be my pleasure.” Niall joins him, placing his things into boxes a little more neatly than Louis is. After a moment, he comes across a picture of Lou and his family and holds it up. “You wanna leave these things here? It'll be more to move if you take them with.” Louis looks up and shakes his head._ _

__“Nah, I'll take those. Harry knows I have a zillion sisters.” Louis replies, wondering if Niall thinks he gave out too much information again. “It'd be weird if I didn't have anything, anyways.” He reasons._ _

__“A'ight, mate. But you're moving the personal stuff back when you're done, yeah?” Niall always makes the point to ask if Lou wants to take personal items with him when he's helping him pack, and he's always left those here. This job seems different, Niall thinks. Louis is giving away a lot more of himself than usual._ _

__\- - -_ _

__Louis had been living at Harry's flat for almost three months. He's already gone around the entire flat and picked out all of Harry's hiding spots, almost missing the spot under the microwave and the one antique book on Harry's bookshelf, which contained a slip of paper with a three digit code that was probably for the safe he kept hidden under his bed. Louis noted to look through the flat again in a month to see if the spots had changed, or if any had been added._ _

__In the second month, Louis had taken the time to add to the list of things he wanted to take when the time came. He added a bunch of stuff that he knew was valuable, like Harry's lenses and some of the equipment he kept in his dark room and the fancy wristwatch Harry wore when he was photographing a wedding or some other posh event._ _

__The third month, Louis decides to tell Harry he'd been snooping around. He's got no clue why he's decided to do this, but he spits it out over lunch one day._ _

__“I'vebeengoingthroughyourthings.” Louis rushes out, looking up at Harry._ _

__“Alright.” Harry continues eating like Louis hadn't said anything surprising. After a moment with no response, Harry looks up at Louis, whose jaw is practically on the table. “You know, its kind of normal to do that. After moving somewhere new.”_ _

__“I – you're not mad?” Louis questions, incredulous._ _

__“No. Don't have much of anything important.” Harry replies, thinking that Louis couldn't have looked under the microwave or in the books on the bookshelf. Louis shuts up at that._ _

__\- - -_ _

___Five months after moving in_ _ _

__Something was different that night. Harry had made Louis dinner, taking extra care to make it a romantic setting. He wasn't sure why he'd done it; it just felt right. It was late after they'd finished cleaning up, both of them heading to bed within a few minutes of each other. Harry had climbed in last, pressing his body up against Louis' back, his hands rubbing tiny circles on Louis' abdomen._ _

__Louis eventually turned and kissed Harry. It was a heated kiss, almost as if Louis' couldn't take in enough of Harry at once. The kiss quickly turned into Harry opening up Louis, something they hadn't done before; usually Louis was the one opening Harry, but tonight Louis was practically begging Harry to fuck him._ _

__Louis wasn't entirely sure why he was begging Harry to fuck him; sure, he'd done it before and loved it, but he generally didn't do it with people he'd planned on skipping out on. It seemed like he was beginning to make more and more exceptions for Harry, but tonight he didn't care. Something had changed tonight, and Louis was curious to see where it took them._ _

__There was something that was still different about that night, aside from switching roles. Both of them could feel it looming in the air around them; neither one saying a word about it. As Harry began fucking into Louis, slow and steady, both men felt their minds and bodies fill with a strong affection. It wasn't just a physical desire anymore; it had become emotional._ _

__A few hours later, Harry looks down at Louis, taking in the way his eyelashes fall perfectly on his cheeks and the way his hair sticks up in all the right ways. He looks so peaceful and content with his arms wrapped around Harry and his head resting on his shoulder. Louis' breath is deep and even and Harry is pretty sure he's asleep._ _

__“I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you, Lou.” Harry says, barely a whisper, looking at Louis' face to make sure he's still asleep. He doesn't move, just continues breathing, deep and even._ _

__Fuck, Louis thinks, his heart swelling. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He hears the way Harry's heart beats, slightly erratic. He thinks about Harry's deep green eyes and his charming personality. His quirky tattoos, each of which he's explained to Louis. He thinks about how Harry always makes him breakfast in the morning, waking him up with a cuddle and some tea. How his tiny hands fit perfectly in Harry's gigantic ones. Fuck, he thinks again. When did he fall in love?_ _

__Louis doesn't think he could leave Harry like he did the other guys. He doesn't want to, he realizes. Dread fills his stomach and he feels like he's drowning at the revelation. The moment he's sure that Harry's asleep, Louis cries, muffling his sobs with a pillow._ _

__\- - -_ _

__At this point, Louis and Harry had developed a routine. Louis would wake up to Harry's alarm every morning, showering while Harry made them breakfast. They would eat together, Harry going to shower after while Louis got dressed and watched a bit of telly._ _

__If Harry had a photography job that day, he'd leave Louis in the flat under the impression that he was currently job hunting. Louis, of course, wasn't job hunting, but he'd tell Harry every day about how hopeful he was that he would get a call back. He never did, for obvious reasons, and Harry never seemed to notice._ _

__If Harry had the day off, they would spend their time together on the couch, snuggling and snogging. Sometimes they would go out, Louis modeling for Harry so he could add to his portfolio. Harry keeps telling Louis he should try for some modeling jobs, but Louis just blushes and denies that he could be a model._ _

__At the end of the day, Harry usually ends up cooking Louis and himself some dinner because the one time that Louis tried to help out he'd started a small fire. Louis helps him clean up after, both of them heading to bed around the same time. Sometimes Harry stays up late, working in his photography room on his laptop, editing photos for his clients. Louis ends up not being able to sleep on those nights and stays up with him, bringing him tea every few hours._ _

__Louis spent his free time pretending he wasn't head over heels in love with Harry and crossing his fingers in the hope that Harry didn't try to tell him he loved him while they were both awake. Crossing his fingers doesn't work, though._ _

__\- - -_ _

___Six months of living together_ _ _

__Harry is fucking into Louis again, slow and steady, just like the first time he'd taken Lou. He's looking at Louis, thinking how gorgeous the older man is and feels his heart swell like it did the first time. Louis' eyes snap open, like he can feel Harry's heart expanding. Harry stops thrusting into Louis for a moment, hearing him whine as he leans in and kisses Louis softly. He spends a moment just looking at Louis, looking into his deep blue eyes and almost feels at a loss for words. Harry grinds his hips in circles, still buried deep in Louis, both of them staring at each other._ _

__“Louis... I love you so fucking much.” Harry says, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. Louis chest tightens in fear and affection, his eyes widening. He didn't expect Harry to say that._ _

__“I – I love you too, Harry.” Louis whispers, his eyes catching the beginning of Harry's orgasm before his own close and he comes with Harry._ _

__\- - -_ _

__Louis has his head on Harry's shoulder and their bodies are tangled together. Louis listens to Harry's heartbeat, thinking. He didn't think it was true (or possible, to be honest) that Harry loved him. He knew the other man didn't take things like this lightly, but nobody had ever loved Louis before and that scared him. Louis was more scared at his own reaction. He felt so high on Harry and it was impossibly easy for him to tell Harry that he loved him back._ _

__Now, though, his heart felt heavy with burden. He didn't know how to be in a proper relationship. None of the other people he'd been with had ever told him they were in love with him. He didn't know what people did once they'd confessed their love to someone. Or before it, really. All Louis knew was running, and a week later, that's exactly what he decided to do._ _

__Harry was at work when Louis called Niall, telling him to be at Harry's flat in a week and that he'd call him with the time later. He doesn't bother telling Niall goodbye, just hangs up and rushes into the bathroom to throw up._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :D Kudos and comments are very, very appreciated.  
> ~Bree


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could've posted this earlier and _I don't know why I didn't_. SO HERE IT IS.

_Present day_

“Lou! I'm home!” Harry calls out into his flat, carefully placing his camera bag on the table by the door. Hearing no response, Harry calls out again. “Lou?” As Harry toes his shoes off and walks into his flat, still no response. He wonders if Louis had gone out for the night when he freezes. His apartment is in shambles, half of his things missing, couch and telly included.

Thinking someone broke in, Harry runs towards his bedroom, looking in rooms along the way, searching for Louis. Harry realizes Louis is gone when he reaches his room, his bed and Louis' clothes gone. His heart began to sink. His eyes fall to the floor where his bed used to sit, noticing his safe, normally containing information for his bank accounts, was open and empty. Realization of what Louis had done to him began to sink in. A quick phone call to the bank confirms his accounts are empty.

Suddenly, Harry is _so_ angry. How could that bastard lead him on like that? Let him think that he loved Harry? He growls and throws his phone, watching it bounce off the wall and shatter into pieces on the floor. How could he tell Harry he loved him? He felt like a fucking idiot, trusting someone so wholly, when he'd only known them for six months. Thinking the other lad had felt the same way, the same connection he did.

“ _Fuck_.” Harry grits out, grabbing the nearest picture of Louis and throwing it at the wall, too, turning as it shatters to grab the next picture frame and throw it, too. He spends almost an hour going through his flat and throwing all the frames containing pictures of him at the wall, pausing after each one to rip the photos to shreds.

Losing some steam, Harry takes a slow, deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. He almost wishes Louis were here; he knew how to get Harry calm in ten seconds flat. The thought of Louis being able to calm him down lowers his mood spectacularly, a cloud of sadness falling over him. Louis had taken take all of his material possessions, his money, and his heart. How could Louis just leave him high and dry like this? Walk out of his life like it was nothing? What had he done?

\- - -

Niall pulls the van up to the curb next to the club, turning to look at Louis. He'd been fidgeting in his seat the whole way over and it was beginning to bother Niall. He wasn't sure if Louis was fidgeting because he was about to sell the things he stole from his boyfriend or if he was upset because he went through with stealing these things from his boyfriend.

“You a'ight, mate?” Louis snaps his head up from where he'd had his eyes trained on the hands in his lap.

“Yes, Niall. I'm fine.” Louis glares at Niall. “Let's just get this over with.” Louis hopped out of the car to talk with Zayn, who had been waiting in the alley way next to the club entrance. Niall stayed in the car while Louis made the deal.

Zayn Malik was a guy Louis had known for years. He was a little taller than Niall, with caramel colored skin, dark brown eyes, and he constantly had a cigarette and lighter on him. Zayn was the guy that tipped Louis off to people who would be easy targets to pick clean after he'd earn their trust. He was also the guy who took the expensive stuff off their hands at a low price and sold it to make a profit for himself.

Niall would get twenty percent of whatever Louis made tonight as payment for helping him move the stolen items, as long as he stayed in the car while Louis made the deal. Niall wasn't sure why he wasn't allowed out of the car while Louis dealt, but he never questioned it. There was a tap on the glass and as soon as Niall looked up, Louis gestured to him that the deal was done and he needed to get out and help unload.

As they unloaded Niall's van, Zayn caught Niall by the shoulder and pulled him around the side of the van, a fierce look on his face. Niall was confused; Zayn never showed any interest in talking to Niall and he had no idea what the other guy would want from him.

“Why'd this one take so long?” Zayn snapped, looking closely at the Irishman.

“I – what do you mean?” Niall furrowed his brow. “You mean why did Louis take so long before he left Harry?” Zayn softened a bit and nodded. “M'not a hundred percent sure, to be honest. Never met Harry, I don't usually meet the guys you tip him off to, but whenever Louis called while he was at work he seemed pretty happy. I didn't really think he'd go through with it this time, t'be honest.” Zayn's eyes widened.

“Are you saying you think he might've actually fallen for the guy?”

“I suppose, yeah.” Niall looked away, unsure as to where this conversation was going. Zayn sighed, his face relaxing for a moment before going back to the stern look he usually saw.

“Right. Thanks, mate. Get back to moving the stuff, yeah?” Zayn walked off and Niall went back to unloading the valuables out of his van.

After they finished loading, Niall got back in the car to wait while Louis got the next tip off from Zayn. He hadn't been in long when he was surprised to see an angry Louis yank the passenger door open. Usually the it took longer for Louis to get a tip.

“What's up, mate?” Niall asks, worried about his best mate.

“Fucker didn't have a tip for me tonight. Said he'd call when he got one.” Louis hissed. Niall's eyes widened. Zayn never didn't have a tip for Louis. He pulled away from the club, and started heading towards his flat, wondering if Zayn didn't have a tip for Louis because Niall had told him he thought Louis had fallen for Harry. Niall sighed.

Zayn smiles to himself as he watches Niall pull away from the club. He can't believe Louis had fallen for someone and still left. Hopefully he can work it out with the guy, Zayn thinks. Louis deserved to spend time with someone who he could fall in love with. As he walks over to his car, he stops at a trash can and pulls a small piece of paper out of his pocket, dropping it in. He has a gut feeling that he won't need to gather tips for Louis anymore.

\- - -

Harry decided he would go to a club that night. He needed some sort of release after what Louis had done to him, booze and dancing seeming like an appropriate distraction. As he approached the entrance of the club, he gives a curt nod to the a guy with a tall quiff and a half sleeve, whose standing outside, probably waiting for a ride. Harry slips a tenner to the bouncer, who lets him in without having to wait in line. Once inside, Harry immediately heads over to the bar, picking a stool in the corner.

“What can I get for ya, mate?” The bartender slides up to him on the other side of the counter, glass and rag in hand. Harry notices his is name tag reads “Liam”, probably the only employee he'd ever seen wearing a name tag. Liam must be new, he thought.

“Rum and coke, please.”

“Coming right up.” Liam crosses to the other end of the bar and begins filling a glass. Harry takes the opportunity to look around the club. Most of the people there look pissed, which will work to Harry's advantage, except for the fact that nobody in particular stands out. Liam returns with Harry's drink, setting it down in front of him.

“Cheers, mate.” Harry responds. Liam nods, not leaving.

“You alright, mate? You look a bit down.” Liam asks, genuinely concerned. Harry eyes him a moment, before giving in.

“My boyf – well, ex-boyfriend, I suppose, left me. Didn't even bother to break up with me.” Harry said, sucking down a good chunk of his drink before looking at Liam again. Liam frowned, looking upset at Harry's misfortune. He sensed Harry wasn't quite done, and gestured for him to continue. “He also took my telly, among other things, and bank information with him.” Liam's jaw dropped at that. Harry just downed more of his drink.

“He _stole_ your things? What?” Liam asked, incredulous. “He took your bank information? Did he take your money, too?” Liam's eyes widened impossibly as Harry nodded.

“Don't worry, though. Still got a little left; enough for the drink.” Harry sighed. Liam shook his head.

“No way, mate. This is on the house. You deserve a drink after the shit day you've had.”

“Yeah?” Harry asks. Liam nods, reaching under the bar top for a pen and paper. Harry watched as he scribbled down his name and number, passing it across the counter for Harry to take. Harry just stared at it.

“Just take it, man. You can call if you need anything.” Harry just eyed Liam as he grabbed the paper, folded it up and shoved it in his jacket pocket. He didn't want to be rude; he'd throw it away later. He downed the rest of his drink and left the bar to go find someone to dance with.

\- - -

Later that night, Harry arrives back at his flat, drunk. Opening the door to his flat and seeing the mess, everything he'd drunk away comes rushing back. Louis left him. Louis took his money. Louis lied to him. Louis never loved him. Harry sniffles a bit at that thought, feeling his eyes dampen a bit.

Heading into his room, Harry flops face down onto the floor where his bed was, forgetting it wasn't there. He curses, hitting the hardwood floor. How could he have forgotten that Louis had taken his _bed_? Who the fuck even stole a bed anyways?

Rolling over, Harry pulls his land line off the bedside table, before he it hits him that he not only has nobody to call, he also doesn't have any phone numbers since he'd broken his mobile earlier. With a sigh, he rolls over again to put the land line back in the base when he hears something in his pocket crinkle. He remembered getting someones number, but he couldn't remember whose number it was. Shoving his hand into his pocket and retrieving the paper, he dialed the number as he read the name above it.

The next morning, Harry wakes up in a pile of blankets and pillows, an arm around his waist, and a massive hangover. He doesn't remember anything that happened yesterday. He wiggles around in an attempt to turn over, thinking he'd wake Louis up and ask about it. When he finally manages to twist around, he jumps and squeaks as he realizes its not Louis spooning him, but some unfamiliar guy with a buzz cut. The guy pulls him closer, trying to nuzzle in closer every time Harry moves.

Harry ends up elbowing the guy in the gut to get him to stop with the grabby hands and wake up. He looks confused for a moment, before he sits up and looks at Harry, smiling.

“Morning, Harry!” Harry just stares at him, unsure of why this guy knows his name. He waits a beat too long to respond and the other guy's brow starts to furrow. “Do you  
remember me? Last night? Yesterday?”

“Uhh, no.” Harry says slowly, hoping not to offend the guy. The other guy looks at him with sad eyes and sighs.

“I'm Liam.” Liam pauses, wondering if that's jogged Harry's memory or not. “The bartender from last night?” Harry shakes his head. “You came into the club last night and told me your ex had left you and stole your telly and your money.” Some of Harry's memory comes flooding back at that and he inhales a sharp breath.

“Oh, God.” Harry puts his face in his hands, thinking. “Did I sleep with you?” He blurts out. Liam laughs at that, like its one of the funniest things he's heard in a while.

“Oh, no. No. Definitely not. I left you my number last night in case you needed anything. You called me around three this morning in tears because you didn't have a bed and couldn't sleep. I came over and was going to take you back to mine to sleep in the guest bed but you'd forgotten you called me and insisted I stay since it was so late. You made this makeshift bed and were quite adamant that I sleep in it with you.” Liam smiled like it was the best thing that had happened to him in a while. Harry just gaped at him.

“Well, uh... You want breakfast, Liam?” Harry asked, getting up slowly. He figured he might as well be polite, considering Liam had taken care of him last night. Liam just smiles and shakes his head.

“Nah, I'm good. I gotta get back to mine, my shift is starting in a few hours.” Harry frowns, looking at the clock, realizing how late it is. “Maybe we can get coffee or something soon, yeah?” Liam grins.

“Yeah, sure. You have my number.” Harry responds, watching Liam start putting his shirt and trousers back on.

“Alright. See you soon then, Harry.” Harry nods and watches Liam get up and leave, hearing the front door to his flat click shut.

\- - -

“Louis! I'm leaving! I'll be back after my shift.” Niall calls through the door with a knock. Louis just rolls over in bed, not really feeling up to responding. Niall must understand, because he gives up after a while and leaves. Louis' not sure when the last time he showered or ate was, but it was probably a week since he'd eaten a full meal. He hadn't done anything since he'd left Harry.

He didn't understand why he couldn't get out of bed. It's not like he liked Harry _that_ much, was it? He was a completely ridiculous person, Louis decided. He was all limbs. He tripped over nothing. He was a _photographer_ , for fucks sake. Louis never liked the artsy types, he reasoned. His hair was just a stupid mass of curls; it didn't even have any shape. His eyes were stupid. His tattoos were annoying. Everything about him was annoying and ridiculous, Louis told himself.

Louis rolled over again, feeling tears prick at his eyes as his throat closed around a lump. He hated this bed; it smelled like the flat he'd shared with Harry for five months. Louis couldn't believe he'd taken almost a _year_ to pull a profit off of this guy. Louis couldn't believe he'd fallen in love so quickly.

Why did he do this, again? Louis couldn't remember, anymore.

\- - -

The next morning, Harry is up early. He decided last night that he wouldn't let Louis control his life by taking his things and breaking his heart. As he's going around his flat, cleaning up the mess he made when he'd come home to discover Louis had left him, his land line rings. Harry's a bit surprised at first, since the only person who ever calls him on his land line is his Mum, who he'd just talked to a few days ago.

“Hello?” He answers, expecting it to be a telemarketer.

“Harry!” Liam greets him on the other end. Harry thinks its ridiculous he remembers Liam's voice after everything. “You still up for coffee today?”

“Uh, sure.” Harry says, shocked that Liam actually wanted to go out.

“Brilliant! You free now?” Harry looks around his flat, thinking his mess can wait until later to clean up.

“Yeah, I suppose. Where do you want to meet?” Liam rattles off an address to Harry, before hanging up. Harry stares at his land line for a moment before deciding he'd better throw some clothes on.

As Harry arrives at the little cafe he'd agreed to meet Liam at, he sees the other lad sitting at a table outside, already sipping coffee. He greets Liam before heading inside and ordering his usual. As he waits for his coffee, he wonders why Liam had wanted to hang out in the first place. He didn't get the feeling that Liam thought this was a date, but they hadn't really known each other long enough to hang out as friends. His thoughts are interrupted by the barista calling his name. After collecting his coffee, he heads back outside and plops himself down opposite of Liam, a small smile on his face.

“So, Harry! What have you been up to today?” Liam asks, beaming at Harry like he hadn't spoken to the other lad in years.

“I've just been cleaning up my flat after what happened. I kinda made a mess of it.” Harry glances up at Liam, sheepish after admitting he'd destroyed his flat. Liam frowned.

“I noticed your flat was a mess. How'd you make a mess of it?”

“I sort of got angry and threw things at the wall. I broke my mobile and a bunch of picture frames.” Harry mumbled. “I'm still kind of pissed that Louis just left like that and stole a bunch of stuff and took my savings, but I decided last night that I wouldn't let it get in the way of my life too much.” Liam nodded, thinking.

“What do you do for a living?” Liam asks. Harry frowns, not wanting to think about that.

“I'm a photographer. I've been doing freelance work right now but the business has been slow. Dunno what I'm gonna do if I can't find more work soon. Louis took my life savings and I don't exactly have a lot of cash.” He sighs. To his surprise, Liam pulls his phone out, offering it to Harry.

“Here. The cafe has free wifi, you might as well apply for a few jobs while we're here.” Liam says, passing his phone to Harry. Harry just stares at him.

“Why are you doing this, Liam?”

“Doing what?” Liam asks.

“Helping me. You don't even know me.” Harry says, exasperated.

“Dunno, really. You seem like a nice enough bloke, just going through a hard time right now. It'd be wrong to not help, wouldn't it?” Liam leans back in his chair as Harry sighs and starts looking for work.

\- - -

Niall banged on the door to Louis' room again. There hadn't been a response since he'd gotten Louis back to his flat over a week ago. He tried the doorknob, expecting it to be locked. It was. With a sigh, he knocked on the door again.

“Louis! If you don't let me in there in the next ten minutes, I'm getting a key.” Niall called loudly, hoping Louis would give up and just open the door. Niall slumped on the floor in the short hallway of his flat, worried. Louis had never been depressed after ripping a guy off. He'd just crash at Niall's for a few days, before Zayn called him with a tip if he didn't already have one.

With a sigh, Niall got up and headed to his kitchen, opening a drawer of junk and digging through it. After a few minutes, he returned to Louis' door with the key, knocking once more.

“Lou, I have a key. I'm coming in.” He called out, sticking the key in the knob and turning. The door opened easily as Niall pushed it open, hoping Louis at least had pants on. Judging by the smell in the room, Louis hadn't showered in a while. Niall sighed, taking in the sight of Louis crumpled up on the bed. Niall wrinkled his nose as he approached the bed.

“Lou?” Niall asks, shaking the other lad's shoulder. Louis batted his hand away. “C'mon, mate. You gotta get up at some point. You stink.” Louis grumbled and rolled over onto his back, stretching.

“What do you want, Niall?” Louis asked, staring at the ceiling. Niall frowned.

“I want you to shower. Get out of here. Go find some guy and take advantage of him.” Louis swallowed hard as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Can I have a cuddle?” Louis finally looks at Niall, who shakes his head.

“Not yet. You need t' shower first, mate, and get some food in you.” Louis sighs, but gets up to go shower.

\- - -

Louis walks out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, hair dripping water onto the floor. He crosses the hallway of Niall's flat and makes his way into his room. Seeing his bed has been stripped, he heads to his closet and pulls out some trousers and a shirt. He pulls his shirt on as he walks back out into his room to search for a pair of boxers, finding them in one of the boxes from Harry's apartment. He sighs and pulls them on, his skinny jeans coming on shortly after.

He doesn't bother to dry or style his hair as he heads into Niall's kitchen, knowing he won't be going anywhere today. He finds a plate of food on the counter of the kitchen and picks it up, assuming Niall left it for him, and heads into the living space. He finds Niall sitting on the couch, his own plate of food sitting on his lap as he watches the telly. Louis joins him, picking a little at his food. After a few minutes, Niall speaks up.

“You look a lot better, mate.” He says, glancing at Louis. Louis' throat tightens, another lump forming in his throat.

“I – yeah, thanks.” Louis replies, his voice a little higher than usual from speaking around the lump. He sniffles a bit, wondering when he became such a girl, when Niall's arms are suddenly wrapping around him, his plate of food forgotten. Louis leans into Niall, not realizing he's crying until he sees the tears fall onto Niall's shirt, forming a wet spot. Suddenly he's extremely aware of the fact that he's crying, and it sets him off even further. He hears himself choke out a sob and feels Niall pulls him even closer.

“You wanna talk about it, Lou?” Niall asks, rubbing small circles into Louis' back. Louis takes a deep breath after a few minutes.

“I l-loved him, Ni.” Louis admits to his friend, out loud, for the first time. Niall takes in a deep breath. He knew Lou had liked the guy, but he didn't realize he'd actually loved him. For the first time, he's not sure what to say to comfort Louis, so he tugs on Louis until the other boy is completely on top of him and cuddles him to sleep. Just as Niall is about to pass out as well, he hears Louis whisper, “I want him back, Ni. I didn't want to leave.” Niall's heart breaks just a little for Louis.

\- - -

Liam and Harry go out together several more times in the next few weeks. Harry tells Liam about Louis and what he did, earning him lots of hugs and sympathy. Harry learns that Liam had also recently had his heart broken by a girl named Danielle. They find themselves bonding over their individual heartbreaks.

One particular night, Harry and Liam decide to head out to a club together. Liam knows the bartender and is able to get them both drinks on the house for the night in exchange for a favor. They order several rounds of shots when things start getting out of control.

Liam is grinding his ass into Harry's crotch on the dance floor in time to the music, with Harry's hands around his waist, pulling him in closer. When Liam leans back into Harry, one hand on top of Harry's at his waist and the other clutching at his hair, he feels Harry's head drop down to his neck as he begins to suck a mark into Liam's skin. Liam finds himself groaning and pushing back into Harry further. Harry stops kissing Liam's neck long enough to lift his head to the shell of Liam's ear.

“You wanna go back to your place?” He whispers, his voice low before he drops his head back down to Liam's neck and continues biting and sucking marks into his skin. Liam nods and leads them outside so he can call a cab.

As soon as the door shuts behind them, Harry pushes Liam up against the wall with a growl before leaning down to kiss him. It was nothing like kissing Louis, he realizes, but he carries on anyways.

Harry ends up fucking Liam against the wall before cradling Liam in his arms and walking them both down the hall to Liam's bed, spooning each other to sleep. The entire time he's with Liam, all Harry can think is that this isn't Louis. He's not one hundred percent sure, but he thinks he might've cried out Louis' name as he came; he's grateful that Liam doesn't say anything if he did.

The next morning, Liam and Harry both wake up knowing that it was nothing more than a casual, even if drunken, shag. Liam and Harry are both very aware that they shouldn't expect anything more from the other.

They end up sleeping together several more times.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis tries to get over Harry and fails miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If some of this doesn't seem to flow as well as the other chapters, I'm sorry. I spent a while trying to get it to fit but I don't think I managed to get there. Had a bit of a block most of the week.
> 
> Also, there's probably only going to be one more chapter. :(

“This is Harry.” Harry says into the speaker of his new mobile phone. He listens for a moment, and a grin forms on his face. It feels strange; its probably the first real smile he's had on his face since Louis ran off. After straightening out some details, Harry hangs up, still smiling. He just landed a job in London as the head of the photography team for a decently famous girl group called Little Mix. He'd be working with the girls themselves as well as a small group of photographers on documenting their lives for the public.

He's so excited that he almost, _almost_ , forgets about what Louis had done, but the thought of Louis still haunts him in the back of his mind. It nags at him constantly about their relationship, his brain telling him that he needed to think about what happened more than he already had. That there was something off about what Louis had done, but he pushes it back as he texts Liam to let him know he's on his way over.

Harry knew the moment he'd gotten the phone call and agreed to take the job that the only person he wanted to come with him to London was Liam. The last thought he allows himself to have about Louis at that moment is that moving to London will put him further from the man who had broken his heart and stolen his things.

\- - -

“Lee-yum!” Harry yells as he throws his arms around Liam.

“Harry!” Liam returns the sentiment, not sure why Harry is so excited.

“Wanna move to London with me?” Harry spits out, grinning like a maniac.

“I – why are you moving to London?” Liam asks, suddenly worried that his friend was making the brash decision to move so he wouldn't have to face the reality of no Louis to come home to.

“I got a contracted job there.” Harry pouts, a little disappointed that Liam hadn't immediately agreed.

“What kind of job?” Liam's eyes expand, shocked that Harry had found work so quickly and had the guts to apply to a job that require him to move.

“Photography, obviously. They said I'd be shooting the day to day lives of a girl group named Little Mix.” Harry replies, hoping Liam will agree to move with him. “The photos will be used in the media and such, so I'll also be getting a lot of recognition.” He adds, hoping to make it sound less boring than it actually is. He'll be the main photographer on the biggest events and finalize his own photos, but the job is mostly him picking what team members he'll send out to do photographing while the girls are on tour and editing and finalizing which photos will go to the media.

“That's great!” Liam pulls Harry closer, realizing that neither of them had stopped holding the other since Harry had walked in. “Why do you want me to go to London with you, though?” Liam adds, furrowing his brow a bit.

“Don't wanna go by myself.” Harry mumbles, hiding his face in Liam's neck. “You're also my best mate, Li. Can't go without you.” Liam's heart melts a little at that.

“Yeah, I'll go to London with you. But you gotta cover the first couple months rent until I find a job, yeah?” Liam puts a hand up to Harry's head, running his hands through his thick curls. He feels a grin form on Harry's face.

“'Course, Li. I figured I'd do that anyways.” Harry responds, pulling back and giving Liam a wet kiss on his cheek. Liam smiles, feeling a little bittersweet because he's not sure if Harry is bringing him because he's really his best mate or if he just wants a fuck buddy.

\- - -

Louis rolls over in his new old bed, thankful that it smells a little less like Harry since Niall washed the sheets for him. He really, really regretted taking Harry's bed _and_ couch once he realized that Harry would be left with nothing to sleep on. But what's done is done, he thinks. He can't go back now. At that moment, the door to his room swings open and Louis swears to himself that Niall can tell when he's feeling particularly bad about Harry.

“Lou?” Niall asks, climbing on top of Louis and holding him close.

“Mmm?” Louis can't really say much else with the weight of Niall crushing him.

“You doin' okay?”

“Mmm.” He replies flatly. Louis' heart sinks a little because he can't even pretend to sound happy anymore.

“You want me t' stay?” Niall rolls them over so Louis is on top and starts running his hands up and down Lou's back. Louis doesn't respond, just buries his face in Niall's shoulder and sniffles, trying not to start crying again.

Eventually Niall has to leave for a DJing gig he's got, making Lou promise to shower and eat something before he gets back. As soon as Louis hears the door to the flat click shut, he decides he can put off eating and showering a little longer as he pulls his phone out and scrolls through the list until he gets to the listing “Home”. He presses the call button and listens to it ring a few times before an automated voice starts talking.

“We're sorry, but the number you have dialed is no longer in service.” Tears well up in Louis' eyes again and one of his hands goes up to catch a sob that escapes his mouth. “Please check the number or try your call again.” Harry had changed the number for the land line they kept in the apartment. He should have known Harry wouldn't want to speak to him again.

\- - -

Harry climbs the stairs leading up to his new flat, carrying a box of clothes. As he approaches the door, he digs his keys out and unlocks it, taking in the sight. This flat is a little smaller than the one he had in Manchester, but it will do, he thinks. A few minutes later, he hears Liam coming up behind him, a box in his arms and a duffel bag on his shoulder.

“It's not so bad, is it?” Liam asks, setting his things down. Harry shakes his head.

“Nah. It's smaller than my last place, but it'll do. It's a good thing my new job offers a darkroom and photo paper and printers; otherwise you'd be out of a room.” Harry grins at Liam, who sticks his tongue out in response.

By the time both boys get all of their things up the stairs and stacked against the wall of the living space in their new flat, it was incredibly late and they were too exhausted to do any real unpacking. While Harry called for takeout, Liam started setting up their beds, placing the mattresses in the bed frames that had come with the flat and pulling their bedsheets out of the boxes. He placed Harry's folded sheets on his bed before heading across the hall to his own room.

Harry finished on the phone, and looked around until he found Liam in his room, making his bed. Liam's room was a little smaller than his own, but they had decided beforehand that Harry would get the bigger room, since he was paying a slightly larger portion of the rent than Liam was. Walking up behind Liam, he wraps himself around the other boy, his hands resting on Liam's hips. Liam pauses.

“Harry? What do you want?” Liam asks, already used to this. Harry pulls Liam closer to him, dropping his head a little to drop light kisses along his neck.

“I'll blow you if you let me sleep in your bed tonight.” Harry says, sucking a deep mark into Liam's neck. Liam relaxes into Harry, humming slightly, knowing he'd give in easily.

“Alright.” Almost immediately, Harry slides his hand down Liam's front, palming him through his trousers.

\- - -

The next morning, Harry wakes up alone in Liam's bed. With a yawn he stretches out over Liam's bed, knowing that Liam hadn't been up for long, considering how warm the spot next to him was. Hopping out of bed, Harry pulls on the pair of boxers he discarded last night before climbing in with Liam.

Walking into the kitchen, Harry finds a mug with a tea bag set out for him and a note from Liam saying he'd be back soon with breakfast. Harry smiles at the thought, pulling the kettle off the stove and pouring the hot water into the cup. Looking around the joined living area and kitchen, Harry can tell Liam had spent some time unpacking before heading out to get breakfast.

Heading into their living space, Harry sinks to the floor in front of one of his boxes, labeled “photography”. He puts his mug of tea on the floor next to him, and drags the box closer so he can open it and pull out its contents. Just as he's about to reach into the box to pull out a well wrapped lens, the door to the flat opens and Liam walks in, a bag of food in one hand and a football under his other arm.

“Uh, Li? Why do you have a football? I thought you were just going out for food.” Harry asks, squinting his eyes at Liam.

“Dunno. Some tall bloke named Nick gave it to me, making a comment about how I looked athletic enough that I might actually use it.” Liam says with a shrug. “I brought you breakfast.” Liam adds, passing the bag to Harry, who accepts it. Harry peers into the bag and grins.

“You remembered how I like my bagels!” Harry exclaims before pulling Liam down closer to him and giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek, leaving a streak of saliva. Liam wipes his face and just smiles at Harry, before heading off to shower.

\- - -

“Sorry, wrong address!” Louis says with a sigh, looking at the guy who'd answered the door. He turned and left, frustrated. Zayn wouldn't give him any tips for some reason, and his other informant, Paul, was complete crap at giving out good tips.

All the tips Zayn had ever given him left him with a good feeling when he went to go meet them, but he'd had to turn to Paul for tips when Zayn stopped sending them his way. Paul was a great guy, who made a living as a bouncer at the club Zayn picked up merchandise at, but he was absolute rubbish at picking guys out. Every single one Louis went to check out turned out to be a flop.

Letting himself into Niall's flat, he sighed as he sunk down onto the couch. He might have to get a real job, he thinks, if he can't find someone soon. His mind flashes briefly to Harry at the thought of finding someone. He'd been a lot better after a month or so without Harry, Louis thinks. That was made clear when he started going back out for jobs again. He hadn't been able to finish any more jobs, though, which is what kept him frustrated to no end.

Louis digs the palms of his hands into his eyes, seeing multicolored spots appear. He tries to focus on anything but Harry. Luckily, his phone rings. Looking at the display, he grins, answering.

“Stan! How's it going, mate!” Louis calls into the phone. Stan had been one of Lou's best mates since they were both little, occasionally informing Louis if he had a good tip. He can feel Stan smiling through the phone.

“Hey, Lou! You anywhere near London?” Stan asks. Louis hears something rattle on the other end of the line.

“Uh, no mate. I'm up in Manchester. Why? You got a tip for me in London?”

“Yeah. If you can make your way down here for a while I can put you up while you get the guy and we can split the earnings like old times.” Stan offers. Louis takes a moment to think about it, silent, until he decides he'd call Stan back about it in a few hours.

“You know, mate, I might actually do that. Let me talk it over with a few people on my end and see if I can't get up there. It sounds brilliant, yeah?”

“Yeah, definitely an ace tip. I guarantee it.” Stan says. Louis nods, forgetting Stan can't actually see him.

“Right, so I'll call you in a bit, yeah?” Louis says, hanging up, without waiting for a response.

This could be what he needs, Louis thinks. A new city with a fresh batch of gullible men waiting to be taken advantage of. He'd also have a larger pool to pick from and the opportunity to meet more informants. All that's left is to see if he can get Niall to go down to London with him.

\- - -

As Niall walks through the door to his flat, he's immediately tackled by Louis. As soon as the two are on the floor, Louis dances his fingers around on Niall's stomach, making him giggle and squirm. Niall wrestles Louis until he's the one on the floor being tickled. Louis squeals and fights away Niall's hands, begging him to stop.

“What is it, Lou? Can't take the heat?” Niall grins, holding Louis down as he continues tickling him.

“W-what? N-no, stop tickling me for a sec!” Louis says seriously, making Niall pause.

“What?” Louis takes a minute to catch his breath before responding.

“Will you move to London with me?” Louis asks, evidently serious.

“I – What? Move to London? Why?” Niall asks, confused at how straightforward Louis was being.

“Stan's got some good tips for me and I don't want to go on my own. I'm kind of attached to you, you know.” Louis says, rolling his eyes.

“Aww, you like me!” Niall says, a grin breaking out onto his face.

“'Course I like you, Niall!” Louis says. “So will you come with me to London?” Niall pretends to deliberate for a moment.

“Yeah, I suppose I could. There'd be more opportunities for me to run music in clubs in London. And more day jobs to try for.” Niall says reasonably. Louis beams at Niall, pulling him down into a hug.

\- - -

Louis is sitting on the floor of his room in Niall's flat, going through his things, tossing half of it and packing the rest away into boxes. Most of what's on the floor is trash or things that Zayn refused to sell, like the sparkly pink dildo that he'd argued could be cleaned and resold. The other stuff consists of his personal items, like pictures of his mum and sisters or the cleats he used to wear when he played at uni for those few, short months.

He eventually comes across his own dildo and sticks it haphazardly into one of the boxes to take with him. He might need it if London doesn't work out and he has to get a job with a paycheck, he thinks. Louis makes it through another few layers of stuff when he comes across a large manila envelope, sealed with tape at the top. He vaguely remembers grabbing it out from under Harry's microwave before he left, thinking it might contain something of value. He'd forgotten to look through it when he dropped the majority of the things off with Zayn.

Maybe whatever is in the envelope is worth enough to tide him over for a while, he thinks, ripping the tape off of the top and sliding the contents out. His heart sinks a little when he sees the photographs, realizing they were all of him. As he flips through them, he sees that some of them are of himself and Harry, copies of the selfies that Louis had insisted they do each time Harry wanted Louis to model for him.

The first picture that hits him pretty hard is one of him looking directly at Harry, an awkward smile forming on his face and a blush creeping up his cheeks. It was from the day after their first date, remembering how embarrassed he felt that Harry wanted him to model. That's when it hits Louis. This is the first he'd seen of any of Harry's photographs. His heart sinks even more at that and he wonders whether Harry thought he didn't care.

The next picture he flips to breaks his heart; it's one of the selfies he'd forced Harry to take with him. It's a shot of the two of them grinning crazily, both twisted around to look at each other, with Harry's hair springing out wildly. Probably because Louis had been running his fingers through it, he thinks. Louis remembers sitting on Harry's lap after he'd set the camera up, turning to tell him he wanted to do a shot of them kissing. Harry must have taken this using the camera's remote half a second before he opened his mouth to speak.

The last picture he sees makes his throat feel thick and tears sting his eyes. It's a picture Louis didn't even know Harry had taken. It was a shot of Harry's upper half, with Louis completely relaxed and asleep on top of Harry, a small smile gracing his face. They were stretched out on the couch, Harry looking down at Louis, his eyes filled with so much love and emotion, a tiny hint of a smile playing on his lips.

“Oi! Lou!” Niall calls as he shuffles down the hallway towards Louis' open door. Swallowing hard, Louis stuffs the photos back into the envelope and carefully places them into the nearest box. He's wiping his face just as Niall appears in his doorway.

“Yeah, Ni?” Louis looks up, hoping his face doesn't look too bad.

“How's the packing going?” Niall doesn't seem to notice whether or not Louis looks miserable or not.

“Um, yeah. Going fine. I'm almost done. We could leave tomorrow if you want?” Louis says, gesturing to the stuff left on the floor.

“Tomorrow's good.” Niall responds, turning to head back into his room.

“Niall?” Niall stops and turns around, looking at Louis.

“Yeah?”

“I need to get over it, don't I?” Louis looks everywhere but at Niall and runs his hands through his hair.

“If that's what you want, mate.” Niall turns again and goes back into his room. Louis stares at the spot Niall stood, wondering if him finding the photos was a sign that he needed to move on.

\- - -

Zayn is on his way to a club in London when he spots a familiar blonde unloading DJ equipment from a van he recognizes. He walks a little closer, wondering if its really who he thinks it is, smiling when he recognizes the lad.

“Niall!” He calls out with a smile, watching as he turns his head to look for the person calling his name. Niall grins when he spots Zayn.

“'ey mate! What are you doing down here in London?” Niall asks, setting a turntable back on the floor of his van.

“I'm here on business.” Zayn changes the subject quickly, not wanting to tell Niall he's thinking about moving back in with his family for a while. Since he didn't feel right giving Louis tips anymore, he hadn't been making much and wanted to go legit. “How have you and Louis been?” He asks. Niall looks a bit disappointed at the question and sighs.

“I've been fine; Louis' been kind of off and on, ya know?” Niall asks, looking to Zayn. Zayn shakes his head.

“Uh, no. I don't know. What do you mean?” Zayn asks, letting confusion show on his face.

“He's run into Harry here a few times. Turns out that job took so long because he had fallen for the guy. Fallen in fucking love.” Niall says, feeling hurt. He still hadn't figure out how to make Louis feel better.

“Shit, mate. Really? He fell in love? Like, love love? Fuck.” Niall just nods, turning his head as he hears someone call his name.

“Look, I gotta run. I have a set to do. See you around?” Niall picks up the turntable again and slams the doors to his van closed with his hip. Zayn nods and watches Niall head into the club.

Zayn continues his walk to the club, thinking about what Niall had told him a moment ago. How had Louis managed to fall in love? He'd always been so careful not to let anyone get under his skin, so how had Harry manage to worm his way in? Worried for his friend, Zayn pulls his mobile out and texts Louis that he's in the city and wants to see him. As he pockets his phone, he spots the line leading to the club stretching halfway down the block.

The moment Zayn sets foot in the club, he heads to the bar for a drink. He needs one after talking to Niall. What he doesn't expect is to see the most fit guy ever working behind the counter. As the bartender turns towards Zayn, their eyes lock, both of them just staring at each other for a moment, forgetting where they are. Zayn can feel a blush creep up on his neck and he looks away for a minute to compose himself, only to find the bartender standing in front of him when he looks back.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asks, trying to subtly check Zayn out. Zayn looks down at the guys chest, noting the name tag reads “Liam”.

“Just a beer will be good.” Zayn watches as Liam turns and walks over to the tap, ogling his bum when he bends over for a glass.

Liam could feel this guy staring at his ass every time he bent over. It felt good to have a cute bloke admiring him, so he made the effort to bend over as often as possible. The guy was really fit; generally Liam didn't go for people with the whole “bad boy” look going on, but this guy was like an Adonis with his perfect cheekbones and toned body. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the guy lift his hand up, asking for another drink as he reaches for a napkin. Liam nods to him, letting him know he'd seen his request, before turning and grabbing another mug.

An hour later, Zayn snitches a pen from over the bar when Liam isn't looking, and scribbles his name and number on the napkin. Liam turns around then, glancing at him, so Zayn makes sure to busy himself with pulling his wallet out and paying, subtly mixing the napkin in with the bills he leaves on the counter. Zayn gets up and leaves, hoping Liam will call him.

As Liam is collecting the money the guy left behind, he realizes he's made a huge tip. He smiles, counting out the rest of the money, coming across a napkin mixed in with the bills. He looks at the napkin, seeing a phone number and the name “Zayn” scrawled neatly onto it. Liam smiles and pockets the number, thinking he'd definitely call at some point.

\- - -

“Sorry!” Louis freezes at the voice, looking up at the person he just collided with.

“Harry?” Louis whispers, his limbs still frozen. Harry's head jerks up at Louis' voice, surprised.

“Louis?!” Harry's voice goes up an octave. This was just his luck, he thinks. He moves away from Manchester just to find Louis hanging about in London.

“I thought you lived in Manchester...” Louis says slowly, folding in on himself a little. He's never actually ran into one of his exes before and he's not sure how to handle the situation.

“I do live in Manchester. I'm just visiting.” Harry snaps, hoping Louis won't notice the badge around his neck that he uses to get into the office. He probably won't see Louis again regardless, Harry thinks, considering that London is so big. Louis folds in on himself a little more.

“Right. Sorry.” Louis pauses. “Sorry for, you know. Everything.” He adds, looking at everything but Harry. He's not sure why, but he feels like apologizing is what he should do.

“I'm sure you are, Lou.” Harry scoffs. “I bet you're _so_ fucking sorry for everything that you've done. Took my stuff and took my heart with it. How much did you make, Louis? A few thousand quid?” Harry huffs out a quick breath. “This is such bullshit.” He adds after a moment of silence.

“What do you want me to do, Harry? Get your stuff back?” Louis snaps back. Louis wasn't quite sure why he was snapping at Harry, considering he was the one who ruined things anyways.

“I want you to leave me the fuck _alone_ , Louis.” Harry almost whispers, shaking his head as he walks away. All of the anger Louis felt deflates inside of him as he stands and watches Harry walk away. Harry leaving felt more right, Louis thinks, instead of him leaving Harry again.

After standing on the crowded pathway in central London for a while, staring in the direction Harry left, Louis bites his tongue and hopes he doesn't start crying before he can make it back to his and Niall's flat.

\- - -

Liam was standing in the flat he shared with Harry on one of his nights off, preening himself in front of the mirror. He'd finally gotten the guts a couple of days ago to call Zayn and they had a date scheduled for tonight. They were just going out for dinner and a movie, but he was still nervous. Zayn was one of the more handsome men who had hit on him and, as selfish as it sounded, Liam wanted to at least know what he was like in bed if there was no promise of something more. Liam bites his lip, trying to redirect his thoughts into getting ready when he hears the door to the flat slam.

“You okay, Harry?” He calls, concerned because Harry never slammed the door. After a moment with no response, he heads out of his room and into the kitchen, finding Harry pulling ingredients down from the cabinets and lining them up on the counter. “Harry, is everything okay?” Liam repeats.

“Ran into him.” Harry doesn't miss a beat, pulling down a couple more dry ingredients before turning to the fridge.

“Who? Louis?” Liam asks, remembering what Harry had told him.

“Yeah.” Harry stops gathering ingredients for a moment to look at Liam, doing a double take when he saw what the other lad was wearing. He doesn't want to know, he decides, and turns back to the counter and starts plucking measuring utensils out of drawers.

“And?” Liam prompts. Harry sighs as he pulls out a bowl.

“He apologized.” Harry starts measuring out vanilla and sugar, dumping them into the bowl. “I – he looked...” Harry thinks for a minute as he measures out some salt and butter, adding them to the bowl. “He looked hurt.” He decides, mixing flour and baking soda into the bowl. Liam just stares at him, unsure what he should say as Harry cracks an egg into the bowl.

“Did you...” Liam eventually starts, not sure he should ask this question. “Did you accept his apology?” Harry stiffens for a moment before dumping a bunch of chocolate chunks into the mix.

“What do you think?” Harry pulls out a cookie sheet and starts dolloping dough onto the pan.

“I think that if you want to get over him you need to accept his apology and get some closure. I think you need to stop using me to forget about him, too.” Liam looks at Harry, who whips his head up.

“Using you?” Harry asks, incredulous.

“You know what I mean. We can't keep sleeping together because you miss having someone else in bed with you.” Liam finishes just as a knock sounds at the door. “I have to go. I have a date, Harry.” Liam turns and leaves, leaving Harry alone to finish with his cookies and think.

\- - -

Harry is sitting on a bench in London, playing with his phone as he waits for a bus, when he feels someone staring down at him. He looks up, jumping when he see's it's Louis again.

“Fuck.” He breathes out. “What are you doing here?” Louis doesn't reply right away, continuing to stare at Harry.

“I really am sorry, you know.” He whispers, finally looking away.

“I-” Harry starts, “I know.” He looks away, thinking of what Liam had said to him a few nights ago.

“I had to.” Louis bites his lip, feeling tears forming in his eyes. “I'm sorry.” He repeats.

“It's... It's okay.” Harry's not quite sure he's ready to forgive Louis yet, but he figures some closure is better than none.

“No, it's not.” Louis turns and walks away, leaving Harry confused.

\- - -

It had been quite a while since Harry had slept with anyone, Liam included. Liam had started rejecting him after their conversation in the kitchen, adamant that Harry needed to find a healthier way to get over Louis and that it wasn't by sleeping with people. Liam had also started going out more, leaving Harry to wonder and never ask.

Tonight, though, it seemed quite clear what Liam had been doing on the nights he went out. He didn't peg Liam as the type to shag on the first date, after all. Harry rolls over in bed, grabbing his headphones to stick in his ears, hoping they would drown out the sex noises coming from across the hall. He loved Liam like a brother, but he didn't need to hear him having sex.

The thought of Louis at the bus stop suddenly popped into his head, the words “no, it's not” echoing through his head. It wasn't the only part of the conversation that Harry didn't understand. He didn't get why Lou _had_ to do this to him. Louis didn't have to do any of it, as far as Harry was concerned.

\- - -

Louis hasn't been in living London for very long when Stan calls him, asking to meet up with him. Louis agrees, taking the underground most of the way to the cafe Stan had told him about. Walking the rest of the way, he thinks about what kind of tip Stan could have for him. He'd always liked Stan as an informant and friend; he'd always been to the point and didn't waste time when money could be involved. As he approaches the cafe, Louis smiles as Stan waves him down.

“Here.” Stan slips Louis a small piece of paper with an address on it. Louis grins, happy that he's finally got a new tip. He slaps hands with Stan, before turning and heading into the nearest underground entrance. Looking at the address, he's relieved he knows the area quite well, putting himself on the correct train seconds before the doors shut. Maybe this guy will take his mind off of Harry.

Louis gets off the train at the correct stop, pausing for a minute to get his bearings while he thinks about the best way to get to this guy's flat. Heading North, it only takes him a few minutes before he's approaching a gated community. He has to wait a while for someone to go through the gates, so he can slip past just as they're shutting.

Pulling the address out of his pocket, he notices the flat number is the same as Harry's was back in Manchester: flat 215. Shaking his head a bit to remove all thoughts of Harry and checking his reflection in a car window, he sets off to find the correct door. It takes him a few minutes to figure out the layout of the place and another few before he finds himself in front of flat number 215, pressing the buzzer. He plasters his signature smile on his face and waits, hoping this guy is home.

Louis' blood runs cold and his smile fades as the door opens, recognizing the other lad immediately. He wasn't expecting this, at all. He thought he'd left him back in Manchester. Harry's mouth drops open and anger floods his eyes and he grips the doorknob a bit harder.

“The _fuck_ are you doing here, Louis?” Harry hisses. Louis swallows and looks down, not meeting Harry's gaze. His body hurts, his brain racing to come up with a reasonable response that won't make Harry angrier. Louis' mouth only opens and then closes, not being able to think of anything. A small flash of realization and then hurt flits through Harry's eyes.

“You came to fuck over whoever lives here, didn't you? Guess you didn't expect to see someone you'd already screwed.” A cold laugh escapes Harry's mouth, making Louis flinch. He moves to close the door the moment Louis remembers how to speak.

“Harry, wait!” Louis calls. Harry pauses for a moment, silent, before opening the door again and staring at Louis. “You live here, don't you? You're not just visiting.” Louis says, barely a whisper as he stares back at Harry. Harry sighs, frustrated.

“Yeah.” He says quietly, looking away and sounding defeated. He's not quite sure why he answered, considering all the other lad had put him through. His eyes finally meet Louis' and he feels a rush of emotion flood through him, a pained look forming on his face.

Louis watches Harry's face closely, not sure why he looks so hurt all of the sudden. He decides he doesn't like it, and surges forward, pressing his lips against Harry's. He's surprised to find no resistance, Harry kissing him back with just as much feeling. It's not long before Louis' licks into Harry's mouth, the other lad willingly opening his mouth.

“Uh, Harry?” A voice says, both boys stopping and turning to look at the third man standing in Harry's apartment. “What's going on?” Harry's eyes widen at that, looking down at Louis and then back up at Liam, his mouth gaping. He pushes Louis away quickly, scrambling to get through a door that Louis assumes is his bedroom. Louis just stands there, looking shocked, before turning and running out of the apartment and then the complex, thinking he was stupid for believing he was ever almost over Harry.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! :) **_If_** I write an epilogue for this, I'll mark this as a series and add it as a sequel. Enjoy :)

“Harry?” Liam pounds on the door to Harry's room, worried about what he'd just witnessed going on in their doorway. No response. “Who was that?” Liam knocks again and tries the knob; it's locked. Liam sighs, and sits against the wall opposite the door. “I'm not leaving, Harry. I'll text my boss and let him know I can't come in. I'm not leaving you here like this.”

Liam sighs again, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. He was so confused. One minute he hears someone at the door, the next he comes out to see Harry snogging a guy. He was pretty sure the bloke at the door was Louis, based on how Harry described him. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, though, because Harry refused to show him pictures, saying he'd lost them somewhere.

Liam hears a shuffling sound on the other side of Harry's door and scoots himself closer to the door. He can tell Harry is crying on the other side, but is at a loss as to what he can do.

“Harry?” Liam whispers, his heart sinking when he hears a particularly big sniffle. Liam scoots closer to the door and stretches out on the floor. In the inch of space between the carpeting and the door, he can see Harry's boxers where he's leaning against the door. Of course Harry undressed, he thinks. He can see the tips of Harry's fingers are half resting in the space and decides to stick his own fingers under the door, lacing them with Harry's as best he can.

“It'll be alright, yeah?” Liam whispers. Harry squeezes his fingers a little and lets out another big sniffle.

\- - -

“Li?” Harry croaks, his voice a little worn from his crying. He pulls his hand from Liam's and turns to open the door, wondering why there isn't a response. He slowly opens the door a crack, peeking through and seeing Liam asleep on the floor. After watching him for a moment, Harry gets up and grabs the comforter off of his bed and curls up next to Liam on the floor, making sure to cover both of them.

\- - -

When Harry wakes up, he's trapped between the wall and Liam, who had pulled him into a death cuddle sometime during the night. Wiggling around a bit, he manages to free himself from Liam's grasp and stands up, stretching his limbs. He makes his way to the kitchen, his joints popping along the way, and pulls out some eggs and bread.

Harry hasn't been in the kitchen long when he hears Liam come up behind him. He turns and offers a feeble smile, still feeling a little sore over last nights events.

“Morning, Harry.” Liam smiles.

“Morning, Li.” Harry responds. An awkward silence falls over the two, making Harry uncomfortable with the question he knows Liam is going to ask.

“You alright?” Liam coughs and figures there's really no good place to start.

“I'm okay, I guess.” Harry focuses his attention on the eggs frying in the skillet.

“Could you,” Liam begins, trailing off. “Do you want to talk about what happened last night?” He tries.

“Not really.”

“C'mon, Harry.”

“There's nothing to it, really. Louis came by thinking I was a guy he could screw over and then kissed me.” Harry takes the eggs out of the skillet and slides them onto a plate.

“He kissed you?” Liam pushes the bread down into the toaster. “And did you kiss him back?” Liam adds.

“I don't know.” Harry squirms at the obvious lie. “Why would I kiss him back?”

“Dunno, maybe you still have feelings for him.” Liam suggests, staring at the toaster instead of making eye contact with Harry.

“I don't have feelings for anybody.” Harry insists.

“Alright.” Liam sighs. “I have a date tonight.” He blurts, figuring now is a good a time as any to change the subject. Harry's eyes widen and he looks up at Liam.

“A date.” Harry states. “Okay.”

“Would you mind, uh, meeting him?” Liam blushes. “I just, um, want him to meet you. Considering you're my best mate and all.” Liam jumps as the toast pops up.

“'Course I'll meet him.” Harry smirks at Liam, already beginning to forget about Louis again.

\- - -

“Harry, this is Zayn. Zayn, Harry.” Liam introduces the two lads, hoping they'll get along.

“What's your last name, Harry?” Zayn asks as he shakes the other lads hand, thinking what a small world it would be if it were Louis' Harry.

“Styles. You?” Harry replies casually. Liam sees Zayn stiffen slightly as he pulls his hand back

“M-malik.” Zayn says, keeping a straight face while he freaks out internally. How the fuck did he manage to pull a guy who was best friends with a guy he'd tipped Louis off to? “You, uh, ready to go, Li?” Zayn turns to Liam, hoping to get them out of there as fast as he can.

“Uh, yeah.” Liam frowns. He'd been hoping Zayn would've shown more interest in his best friend but he'd ask about that later. “I'll see you later, yeah?” Liam says, turning to Harry who only nods in response.

“It was nice meeting you, Zayn.” Harry says cheerfully with a wave as the two men exit the apartment and head down the stairs.

\- - -

A few hours into their date, Liam remembers how disinterested Zayn had seemed in Harry. He had thought for sure that his boyfriend and best mate would get along swimmingly, both having a lot of the same interests and sense of humor. Liam looks across at Zayn, whose digging into his pasta like he hadn't eaten in a while.

“Zayn?” Liam asks. Zayn only hums in response. “Why did you want to know Harry's last name?” He asks, surprised when Zayn stiffens again.

“No reason in particular.” Zayn lies, hoping Liam doesn't catch on. It fails.

"Zayn.” Liam says sternly, like he's talking to a small kid. Zayn sighs, defeated.

“Have you ever met Louis?” Liam freezes.

“What do you know about him?” He asks, ready to defend Harry. Zayn cringes a little.

“He and I had a... business deal of sorts when he lived back in Manchester. I'd point him in the right direction and he'd bring back what he could. I'd sell the stuff and we'd split the profits.” Zayn says, looking away. Liam's hands clench into fists.

“You sent Louis after him?” Liam hisses, angry. How could Zayn do this to people? Just sic Louis after them to turn a profit? “How the fuck do you justify doing that, Zayn?” Zayn was at a loss for words; he looked at Liam pleadingly. Liam only glared at him, hurt.

“I think it might be best if I just leave.” Liam says, pulling his wallet out as he gets up. He drops a few bills onto the table to cover his portion of the meal and leaves, ignoring the way Zayn calls his name on his way out.

\- - -

“Liam?” Harry calls, surprised to hear his flatmate slamming the door and kicking his shoes off. A beat later, Liam stomps into the room with a sour look on his face. Harry puts his magazine down. “Liam? What's wrong?” Harry presses.

“He knows Louis.” Liam hisses. “He set you up.”

“Who?” Harry asks, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“Zayn.” Liam whispers. “I found out tonight.”

“ _What_?” Harry nearly chokes on his own spit.

“He told me that he and Louis had a business deal. He would tip off Louis, who would then bring him things to sell and they would split the profit.” Liam takes a deep breath, steadying himself.

“Fuck.” Harry grits out, grabbing a pillow and throwing it across the room. He storms out of the room and locks himself in his room for the night.

\- - -

The next afternoon, Liam is about to take another step out of their flat when he trips and falls, landing on something soft. Confused, he sits up and finds himself laying in a fairly large bed that someone had pushed right up to their door. The bed looked nice, and had a set of pretty floral sheets stacked in a clean pile at the headboard.

“Um... Harry?” Liam calls back into the flat, feeling completely lost as to why there might be a bed outside their flat.

“Um... Liam?” Harry mocks, coming around the corner dressed in only his boxers and carrying a bowl of cereal. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees the bed. Liam looks at him and at the bed, silently asking if Harry knows why it might be there. “That's my bed?” Harry says, beginning to feel the same confusion that Liam does.

“What? This is your bed?” Liam responds, one eyebrow going up.

“And my sheets.” Harry adds.

“One, when did you get this bed? And two, why is it here?” Liam asks, still lost.

“I got it when I moved into my old flat in Manchester. It's the one that Louis stole. Dunno what it's doing here, though.” Harry sets his cereal down. “Those,” he points, “are the sheets I had on it when he ran off with it.”

“Oh.” Liam says, feeling the pieces click together. Someone, either Zayn or Louis, had come by during the night and returned Harry's bed.

“Help me move it inside, would you?” Harry asks, climbing over the bed to the opposite edge and positioning himself to move it.

\- - -

The next day, Liam opens the door to the flat to find a couch. He sighs. This was going to get old fast if they kept getting things back at their doorstep every day like this.

“Harry, is this your couch?” Liam calls, turning and plopping down on the couch. He hears something under the cushion crinkle, sticking his hand underneath and pulling out a large envelope. Curious, he opens the envelope and pulls out its contents, surprised to find several pictures of Harry and a guy that he assumed was Louis. After looking through a few, he's certain that they're photos that Harry himself had taken.

“Yeah, that's my couch.” Harry shows up in the entryway to their flat, his blood running cold when he sees what Liam is holding. “Where did you get those?” He asks, not realizing he's whispering.

“They were under the cushion.” Liam says, offering the stack to Harry. Harry snatches them out of Liam's hand and disappears into their flat for a moment, sticking the photos somewhere he knows Liam won't find them again later. When he comes back out, he sees Liam has stretched out on the couch.

“Let's get the couch inside, yeah?” Harry suggests as he pulls Liam off the couch and onto his feet. “S'posed to rain today.” He adds, hoping Liam wouldn't ask him about the photos any time soon.

\- - -

Louis isn't sure why he decided to give the bed or the couch back, but it felt right. He no longer had anything to sleep on, of course, but he felt like it was worth it. He felt like maybe he could move on if he no longer had the things he stole from Harry that Zayn couldn't or wouldn't sell.

Stepping into the department store he'd made Niall drop him off in front of, Louis adjusts his backpack carefully and heads for the camping goods section. He passes some bouquets on the way and grabs one, deciding they would look nice with the next set of stuff he'd be dropping off at Harry's flat later tonight.

Once he reaches the camping department, Louis scans the aisles quickly, looking for sleeping bags. He picks out the cheapest one and heads back up to the front of the store and stands in the queue to pay. As soon as he's paid, he jogs over to the nearest underground station and hops on the first train he sees that will take him closer to Harry's neighborhood.

\- - -

Louis stashes his sleeping bag in a bush in the park across from Harry's flat, hoping it won't be too dark for him to find later when he's done dropping stuff off. He's making the drop a little earlier tonight because he wanted to ring the buzzer to make sure someone else doesn't stumble across the things first and take them.

Pulling out a glass he'd found on the train, he heads to a water fountain and rinses it out before filling it about halfway with water. He places the flowers in the glass, turning it into a makeshift vase. Carefully, Louis makes his way across the street and up the stairs to Harry's door and sets the vase down and shrugs his backpack off.

Unzipping his bag, Louis finds a slip of paper and a pen and scribbles a quick note and tucks it between the flowers. Next he pulls out a few camera lenses he wasn't able to give up to Zayn to sell and arranges them around the bouquet. He arranges the tallest ones in the back and the smaller ones up front, hoping it doesn't look too weird. He pulls a few more trinkets that he'd taken out of his bag and places them around the lenses and the bouquet before standing up.

Louis looks at the door and takes a deep breath as he shoulders his bag again. He moves as far away from the door as he can while still being able to reach the buzzer. Louis takes another deep breath and pushes the buzzer twice before taking off in a sprint, making it halfway down a flight of stairs before he hears the door open.

\- - -

“Zayn.” Liam says, surprised to see Zayn standing at his door.

“Hi, Liam.” Zayn snubs out his cigarette on the brick wall outside of Liam's flat, tucking the last half into a pocket. “Can I come in?” Zayn looks down, expecting to get rejected.

“Yeah.” Liam steps aside, gesturing for Zayn to come in. “We kind of need to talk about things, don't we?”

“Yeah, we do.” Zayn steps inside, thinking this would probably be his last chance to see Liam. He follows Liam into the kitchen and sits across from him. They both stare at each other for quite a while before Zayn starts.

“I'm sorry.” Liam looks down at the table and takes a deep breath.

“It's alright.” Liam takes another deep breath. “If you want things to work out between us, I need you to promise to find a job. A job where you aren't conning people, a job where you're making honest money.” Liam's fingers begin drumming on the tabletop. Zayn breathes out air he didn't know he had been holding, feeling so relieved. He didn't think he'd still have a shot with Liam after what had happened.

“Li, I know we haven't been seeing each other for very long, but I would do anything to have you with me.” Zayn reaches across the table and grabs Liam's hand. “I didn't tell you this before, but the reason I came to London was to try and build up some actual work experience. When I lost Louis, I realized that if Louis couldn't do it forever, then I couldn't do this forever. It's the same reason you haven't come over to mine; I've been living with my parents and sisters.”

“You have sisters?” Liam grins, his brain skipping over the fact that Zayn had somehow “lost” Louis.

“Yep. Got three younger ones.” Zayn smiles, happy that Liam is happy. “Are we okay, then?” He ventures.

“We're good. As long as you can find a real job, yeah?” Liam's smile softens a bit, genuinely happy that Zayn is willing to work for their relationship.

\- - -

Harry opens the door to the flat, expecting to see someone on the other side. No one is there, so he pokes his head out and looks around, still not seeing anybody. He sighs and looks down, slightly annoyed that some kid decided to play ding dong ditch while he was busy editing photos for work. That's when he sees the flowers and a bunch of camera lenses on the ground in front of his door. Smiling a little, he bends over and grabs the note out of the flowers, figuring he'd better read it first.

_I'm sorry. I don't have your telly or money. This is the last of your things. I won't be around again. I really am sorry. - L_

Surprised, Harry bends over and picks up the lenses, carefully examining each one. They were all the ones that Louis had taken in the first place, leaving him with only a couple to use. He moves them all to the table Liam decided to put next to the door, moving the plant they never watered. He picks up the rest of the trinkets that Louis had left: his watch for fancy events, his grandmothers wedding ring, and an antique swallow figurine among other things.

As Harry puts the things Louis returned away, he realizes he's not mad anymore. Just heartbroken.

\- - -

Louis is walking home from Harry's flat back to his and Niall's. He ran out of money after paying for his ride on the underground; he'd used the money he needed to get back on the bouquet. He'd found his sleeping bag easily in the bushes, taking it out and squashing it into his now empty backpack. Louis is going down a steep hill when he hears a honk.

“Oi! How much for a night?” A male voice calls out. Louis shoots them a dirty look and keeps moving, hoping they'll get the message. They honk again. “I asked you how much for a night.” They're yelling now, starting to sound a bit angry.

“You couldn't afford me.” Louis spits back, flipping them off and walking a bit faster. He notices whoever is driving has a fairly nice Mercedes.

“Try me.” The voice calls out, speeding up a bit to keep up with Louis increased pace. Louis thinks for a minute, trying to come up with some ridiculous number to make them get away.

“Thousand pounds.” He responds, trying not to smirk. He knows he looks good, but he's pretty sure that no one in their right mind would pay that much.

“Get in.” Louis stops walking and turns to face the car, not expecting them to accept. He stares at the car, wondering if this is an opportunity he should take. It would be quick money, he reasons, and there would be more chances to steal valuable things for Stan or Zayn to sell. He'd be able to get a quicker turnover on cash, as well, he reasons. Louis steps closer to the car and pulls the door open. At least it would be easier to keep Harry out of his mind for a few hours than have to do it for days on end on a bigger job.

\- - -

“What are you doing here?” Harry hisses, eying Zayn. Zayn's eyes widen.

“Whoa, mate. Calm down. I'm here for Liam.” Zayn takes a few steps back, hoping Liam will show up soon. As if on cue, Liam shows up behind Harry looking a little flustered.

“Harry! What are you doing!” Liam scolds. Harry whips his head around to look at Liam.

“I think the better question is what are _you_ doing, Liam?” Harry snaps, his knuckles turning white as his grip on the door tightens. “Why are you still with this arse?”

“'This arse' is right here.” Zayn says, trying to remind them all he hasn't left.

“I don't have to explain this to you right now, Harry. We will talk later after you've calmed down.” Liam responds, ignoring Zayn.

“Good luck with that.” Harry spits, slamming the door in Zayn's face. Zayn stares at the door, not sure if he should leave or not. Liam comes out a moment later.

“C'mon Zayn. Let's go.” Liam sighs, grabbing Zayn's hand and heading towards the stairs.

\- - -

Sometimes, Niall wonders why Louis doesn't get an actual job. The job he has now, if you could call it that, seemed to get him into quite a bit of trouble sometimes. There was the time he'd gotten involved with a gang leader, having to skip town with Niall to get out of it. That was when Niall had stopped getting involved with the guys themselves.

The only reason Niall had decided to get involved this time was because Louis was hurt and Niall didn't like seeing his best mate so upset. He was sick of Louis and Harry just kind of circling each other without trying to talk about things. Which explains why Niall finds himself at this particular apartment complex, jogging up the stairs and staring at a door, wondering if he's doing the right thing, as he lifts his knuckles to the door.

Niall knocks on the door to flat number 215 and tucks his hands into his pockets, nervous as he waits. After a moment, a guy with green eyes and dark, curly hair answers the door and eyes Niall suspiciously.

“Can I help you?” He asks. Niall takes a deep breath.

“Uh, Harry, right? I'm Niall. Can we talk?” Niall asks, pulling his hands out of his pockets and running them through his hair. Harry is still looking at Niall with a look of distrust.

“Look, if you're going to try and screw me over in a few months, don't bother. I'm not interested.” Harry moves to close the door.

“Wait! I'm not here for that.” Harry pauses, opening the door a bit wider.

“Then why are you here?” Harry demands.

“I – I wanted to talk to you about Louis.” Niall admits, looking down. Harry was definitely not expecting that. “Can I come in, please?” Not quite sure what the guy at his door is on about, Harry lets Niall in, still guarded, and leads him to the kitchen.

“Tea?” He offers, shrugging and sitting down when Niall shakes his head. He gestures for Niall to sit as well, waiting for him to say something. When he doesn't, Harry sighs, realizing he'd have to start this conversation.

“You wanted to talk to me about Louis?” He prompts.

“I – yeah. You probably don't know who I am.” Niall laughs a little, nervous. “I've been Louis' best mate for a while now.” Harry's eyebrows shoot up at that. Louis had always told him that he didn't know anyone because he'd just moved to Manchester. Thinking back on it, Harry realizes it makes sense; Louis refused to go out with Harry and his friends, preferring to stay in. Probably to avoid running into someone he'd screwed over.

“You knew he was screwing me over.” Harry states, not even a question. Niall nods.

“I didn't say anything because he's done it before without any problems.” Niall says, watching Harry roll his eyes.

“Of course he's done it before. Why would I be any different?” Harry hisses, balling his hands up into fists. Harry wasn't quite sure why he was getting angry.

“He stayed with you longer than the others.” Niall said, watching Harry's face for a reaction. He was surprised there was none.

“And? Was I just tougher to crack?” Harry asked, careful to keep his face straight. His voice gave him away, though, going higher in pitch. Why the fuck would he care if Louis spent more time on him? Why would Niall think he cared?

“I – look. Louis has never been good at relationships. He spent his childhood watching his mom fuck over men and its literally all he knows about having relationships with people. For the longest time he wasn't sure why he stayed with you, either. He could've left you after three or four months, but he didn't. It wasn't until about a week before he left that he even bothered to call me about leaving.” Niall said, hoping that him talking to Harry didn't end up pissing Louis off.

“What does this have to do with me, Niall? Why would he have stayed an extra four months? It's not like he actually cared about me; he was only focused on how much he could make off of me.” Harry spat. Niall was getting frustrated at this point. Why didn't Harry understand?

“He's fucking in love with you, Harry! He hasn't pulled off another successful job since he left you. He's spent the last couple of weeks selling himself and taking any extra money he can from their wallets and grabbing a few valuables before they wake up. He then comes home and gets drunk and ends up in bed with me, crying 'is eyes out over you.” Niall practically yells, finally getting a reaction when Harry's mouth drops open.

“Get out.” Harry hisses, standing up. That's not what Niall was expecting, but he gets up and heads to the door anyways. Just as he's about to walk out the door, he turns back around to face Harry.

“He left because he was scared. Not because he wanted to screw you over.” Niall says, barely a whisper, walking the rest of the way out of Harry's flat. He's really screwed this up, he thinks.

\- - -

“You can't just do that, Harry.” Liam finally says over dinner one night.

“Do what?” Harry plays dumb, looking up at Liam.

“You know what.” Liam glares at Harry.

“Why can't I? Your boyfriend is the one that ultimately broke my heart.” Harry pauses. “I don't see why it's so wrong that I don't trust him. I also don't get why you're still with him.”

“My boyfriend did not break your heart, Harry. Louis did. All Zayn is responsible for is selling stolen items and telling Louis who to go after.” Liam responds.

“That still doesn't explain why you're still with him.” Harry mumbles, picking at his food with his fork. Liam sighs.

“Sometimes people deserve a second chance, Harry. Besides, Zayn isn't working on the black market any more. He's got a job at a book store. That's why I agreed to give him a second chance.” Liam reasons. Harry doesn't respond, his mind stuck on second chances.

\- - -

“'Lo?” Zayn answers his phone, still half asleep.

“It's Harry.” The voice on the other end responds. Zayn sits up at that, feeling more awake. Liam probably gave Harry his number, he realizes.

“Harry.”

“Look, I still don't trust you. But I need something from you.” Harry sounds upset, Zayn thinks.

“Yeah, mate. Whatever you need, I'll get it.” Zayn furrows his brow, his suspicions confirmed when he hears Harry try to disguise a small sob with a cough and a wet sniffle.

“I need Lou's number. His new one.” Zayn's eyebrows shoot up. He gives Harry the new number he has for Louis, hearing him hang up almost immediately after. Here's to hoping he's going to use it to get Lou back, Zayn thinks as he snuggles himself back into bed.

\- - -

“Li?” Harry turns off the television Liam had brought to London and turns to face his best mate.

“Yeah?” Liam responds, sensing Harry wants to discuss something important.

“Lou's friend came by.”

“Zayn?” Liam's eyebrows raise slightly at that. Harry shakes his head.

“An Irish bloke named Niall.” Liam nods at that.

“What did he want?”

“He said...” Harry stops and takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “He said Louis is still in love with me.” Liam's phone dings with a message from Zayn. “You can check it if you want.” Harry says, knowing that Liam has difficulties ignoring Zayn's messages, even if temporarily. Liam pulls his phone out and opens the message.

_tell ur twat of a best mate to go for lou. those 2 r gone for each other xx_

“Go ahead.” Liam says, grinning as he puts his phone down. He's getting a feeling he knows what Harry is going to ask him.

“Don't you need to reply?” Harry is a little confused; he hasn't seen Liam not reply to Zayn.

“No, it's not important. Go on. You said that Niall said Louis still loves you?” Liam prompts.

“Yeah. I don't know if it's true or not. I mean, we know how I feel. But I don't want to make a fool of myself if I go looking for him, you know?” Harry rambles.

“I think you should give it a shot.” Liam encourages, trying not to let on that he knows anything more.

“You sure?” Harry asks, uncertain.

“I'm sure, Harry. What have you got to lose?”

\- - -

A week later, Louis' phone buzzes with a text from a number that looks vaguely familiar. Unlocking his phone, Louis reads the message, assuming its one of his clients. He'd figured out that having repeat customers earned him more.

_Meet me at the park? xx_

The park is an awfully weird place to meet a client, Louis thinks. He agrees to meet them later anyways, since he doesn't feel like working the streets tonight.

\- - -

Harry is laying on a bench, his feet dangling off the edge over arm rest, waiting for him to come. It had been almost half an hour since they were supposed to meet and although he was notoriously late for everything, half an hour was pushing it, Harry thought. Even for Louis. Harry stares up at the clouds, smirking as he sees one float by that looks like a penis.

Louis, for once, isn't late. As the bench he was supposed to meet his client by came into view, he had to stop. Harry was there. He hasn't seen Harry stretched out like that in what feels like ages and its almost as if the image captivates him.

That's when it hits him. The person who contacted him wasn't a client; it was Harry. Harry wanted to see him. He doesn't know how long he's been staring when he sees Harry start to get up to leave.

Harry sits up, sighing. Maybe Niall was wrong; maybe Louis wasn't ever in love with him. Standing, he turns around to head back to his flat, given up on waiting for Louis. He takes a few steps before he stops dead, seeing Louis standing across the park, staring at him with his mouth open. Harry stares back, as a grin spreads across his face slowly. Louis came for him.

Louis feels himself walking towards Harry. He's not sure what's propelling his movement, but all he can think is that Harry was there for him. He feels his feet move faster and faster the closer he gets to Harry, practically running him to the other man.

Harry takes a few steps forward, meeting Louis, wrapping his arms around the smaller man. Louis wraps his arms around Harry, tears forming in his eyes.

“I'm so, so sorry, Hazza.” Louis chokes out.

“I know, Boo. I forgive you.” Harry breathes out.

“I love you, Harry. So, so much.” Louis sobs out, feeling tears fall down his face.

“I know. I love you, too.” Harry whispers in response, pulling Louis as close as he can, hiding his grin in the crook of Louis' neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! :) And for waiting while I cranked these chapters out, haha. All comments are appreciated! I read them all.
> 
> Thanks to J ([tomlinsunshine](http://archiveofourown.org/users/tomlinsunshine/pseuds/tomlinsunshine)/[tornlinsunshine](http://tornlinsunshine.tumblr.com/)) for helping me figure out what male celebrities smelled like and for letting me harass & annoy her on tumblr. And for letting me send her pictures of my cat for no real reason. :D I would also highly recommend you read her fics. They're flippin' amazing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> Additional inspiration came from:  
> Lovers' Eyes by Mumford & Sons  
> Please Don't Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Aplin  
> Just Give Me A Reason by P!nk, ft. Nate Ruess.


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